Musculoskeletal complaints and disability in a group of young adults with major congenital upper limb differences in The Netherlands.

Purpose: To determine prevalence of musculoskeletal complaints (MSCs) in adults with major congenital upper limb differences (CoULD) compared to able-bodied controls, and to examine associations of MSCs and disability with various biopsychosocial factors.

Materials And Methods: Questionnaire-based cross-sectional study assessing MSCs, disability (using the Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand questionnaire (DASH)), general and mental health status, physical work demands, and upper extremity range of motion.

Results: Seventy-one individuals with CoULD (participation rate: 41%) and 71 controls matched on age, gender, and education were included (49% female, mean age 28.

The systematic and participatory development of a patient decision aid about terminal devices for people with upper limb absence: The PDA-TULA.

Selecting an upper limb prosthesis seems to be a challenge considering the high rejection rates. A patient decision aid (PDA) could support the decision-making process by providing information about available options and clarifying the patients' values related to those options. This study aims to describe the developmental process of a PDA about terminal devices (TDs) for people with upper limb absence: PDA-TULA.

Perception and control of low cable operation forces in voluntary closing body-powered upper-limb prostheses.

Operating a body-powered prosthesis can be painful and tiring due to high cable operation forces, illustrating that low cable operation forces are a desirable design property for body-powered prostheses. However, lower operation forces might negatively affect controllability and force perception, which is plausible but not known. This study aims to quantify the accuracy of cable force perception and control for body-powered prostheses in a low cable operation force range by utilizing isometric and dynamic force reproduction experiments.