Every year, thousands of Canadians are diagnosed with degenerative cervical myelopathy (DCM), a form of non-traumatic injury caused by spinal cord compression in the neck. While DCM causes a range of symptoms, one of the most disabling is loss of hand dexterity. Surgical decompression is standard treatment for DCM, but reduced dexterity often remains. The investigators have developed a portable, easy-to-use dexterity assessment tool for measuring hand dexterity. Hand function is often assessed using tools incapable of measuring subtle changes in function, limiting a clinician's ability to monitor progression of or recovery from a disease over time. The hope is that if subtle changes in function are identified early, leading to an early DCM diagnosis and treatment, this may prevent patients from experiencing a greater loss of hand function. The goals of this study are to determine the relationship between dexterity and myelopathy severity, as well as to establish the validity and reliability of the dexterity tool. This will be done by assessing dexterity using the dexterity tool in DCM patients (to determine the relationship between disease severity and dexterity, and measure validity) and healthy participants (to establish reliability).
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Dexterity measurements using the Dexterity Assessment Tool in patients with cervical myelopathy
Timeframe: Dexterity will be assessed at one time point, when the participant is recruited
Correlation between the Dexterity Assessment Tool and the GRASSP-M tool (Graded Redefined Assessment of Strength, Sensation and Prehension-Myelopathy)
Timeframe: Dexterity will be assessed with both tools at one time point, when the participant is recruited
Correlation of dexterity measurements in healthy participants using the Dexterity Assessment Tool to measure inter-rater reliability
Timeframe: Dexterity will be assessed in healthy participants at one time point, when the participant is recruited.
Correlation of dexterity measurements in healthy participants using the Dexterity Assessment Tool to measure test-retest reliability
Timeframe: Dexterity well be assessed in healthy participants at two time points, once when the participant is recruited, and once one week later.