This study was to investigate the utility of a unilateral accelerometer, which is commonly used for monitoring upper extremity performance, in subacute stroke patients by comparing its use with other upper extremity assessments. Twenty-four participants were recruited and required to wear an accelerometer on the affected wrist for 3 hours daily for the first 4 weeks after discharge from hospital. Assessments included Fugl-Meyer Assessment-Upper Extremity (FMA-UE), Action Research Arm Test (ARAT), Box and Block Test (BBT), and self-reporting Motor Activity Log (MAL). Assessments were made at 0, 4, 8, and 12 weeks after hospital discharge. How long the device was worn, movement amount, and movement percentage were extracted from the accelerometer. Throughout the 12-week observation, significant improvements in the participants were shown by the FMA-UE, ARAT, and BBT (p < 0.001, p = 0.026, and p < 0.001, respectively), but no significant change could be found using MAL or the accelerometer parameters across time (p = 0.068 to 0.999). There was moderate-to-good correlation among the assessments; however, no significant correlation was obtained between any of the assessments and the accelerometer data. We suggest that the unilateral accelerometer might not be useful to reflect actual arm functions in daily activities.
Keywords: accelerometer; learned non-use; paretic upper extremity; stroke.