The Functional Repertoire of the Hand and Its Application to Assessment

Functional assessment of the hand typically involves evaluation of proficiency using a test battery rather than identifying the range of hand skills available to a client. Establishing a clients hand function by reference to the movement repertoire of his or her fully-functioning hand offers numerous benefits for clinicians and researchers. A functional repertoire model of the hand is proposed as a framework for guiding assessment and therapy. The model identifies four main components relating to hand function: personal constraints, hand roles, hand actions, and task parameters. The model provides a common language for assessment, program development, and research across populations. Application here is to hand-injured clients, but the framework is equally valuable for hand function assessment of developmentally and physically challenged individuals, persons with neuromuscular disorders, or geriatric populations.