ABSTRACT
Objective:To measure the space of motion of index finger with and without injury, to apply it in rehabilitation. Methods:Thirty healthy undergraduate volunteers (controls) and three undergraduate volunteers with recent index finger injury (patients) were asked to flex, extend, adduct, abduct and ring the index finger independently and combined with middle finger, twice for a motion with an interval of 30 seconds. The index finger movement trajectory was recorded with a high-definition camera, and analyzed the range of flexion, extension, adduction, abduction and ring rotation motion with MATLAB. The movement space and defect of the injured fingers were drawn. Results:The ranges of independent flexion-extension and adduction-abduction reduced 26.5% and 24.6% in the patients compared with those of the controls, respectively. The defects of ring rotation space were very different with the degrees of recovery, and the maximum loss happened on 160°, 70° and 170°. Conclusion:Loss in index fingers motion space in range and direction may help for rehabilitation assessment.