Effect of a psychomotor training program on hand function in nursing home residents: a pilot study

In elderly people, hand and upper limb function are essential to maintain independence in the activities of daily living. Living in nursing homes, due to 24h nursing assistance, reduces the amount of activities autonomously performed by the residents, hence supports the physiological age-related decline of the upper limb and hand function. Benefits of physical activity have been well-documented and are universally accepted; however, to the best of our knowledge, the effect of a structured physical activity on the quality of hand and upper limb function has never been investigated in elderly nursing home residents. Fourteen nursing home residents were recruited and randomly assigned to either a control (CG) or experimental (EG) group. The CG subjects did not modify their current activities and treatments, whereas the EG subjects engaged in a 3-month exercise program (3 sessions per week) focused on improving upper limb and hand function. Before and after the intervention, manual and finger dexterity were assessed by means of the Jebsen-Taylor hand functional test and the Nine-hole Peg test, respectively. After the intervention, manual dexterity significantly improved (p0.05; Wilcoxon test), regardless of the hand used. Only delta score (i.e. the difference between the results after and before intervention) of non-dominant manual dexterity improved significantly (p