Grant: Undergraduate: Mobility, musculoskeletal health and arthritis - ICS

More than 4.5 million Canadians are forced to live with arthritis, women being more affected than men. Osteoarthritis is a chronic condition characterized by the breakdown of cartilage in joints. The most common site for this disease is the hands. During functional tasks, such as grasping an object, the fingers naturally separate during the movement, and move toward one another again as the object is grasped. Osteoarthritis of the hand can restrict these movements of fingers and causes pain. As well, osteoarthritis of the hand may affect the muscles of the hand, which control the fingers to spread apart and come together. Using high speed motion capture and measurement of muscle activity in the hand, this research will examine how osteoarthritis may be associated with changes in how patients grasp objects and perform daily activities with their hands. This research may provide a new method of identifying the osteoarthritis early on, before the signs become visible. If hand muscle activity is affected by osteoarthritis, future research may be focused on developing new treatments to improve muscle function and the use of the affected hands. This research will lead to new understanding of how osteoarthritis affects the use of the hands during normal activities. The quality of life of patients with osteoarthritis in the hands will be improved by changes in health care that will result from this research.