Effect of Resistance Training of the Wrist Joint Muscles on Multi-Digit Coordination

This study investigated the effects of a specific regimen of resistance training on coordinated actions of human hand digits during grasping. Participants were instructed to hold a rectangular object with all five digits and to maintain the orientation of the object against transient perturbation. Indices of co-varied actions (i.e., synergies) among multi-digit grasping and rotational actions were quantified. The index of anticipatory changes of co-varied actions among digit forces (i.e., anticipatory synergy adjustment) was also quantified, which represents the controller's ability to predict an upcoming perturbation. The synergies of both grasping force and moment stabilization increased with the training. No change in the index of anticipatory synergy adjustment with training was observed. The current results suggest that the resistance training on the wrist could be an effective way to enhance both voluntary muscle force/torque production capability and ability to stabilize task performances during multi-digit prehensile tasks.