Does cervical radiculopathy affect eye hand coordination?

Purposes. This study was conducted to investigate the relationship between cervical radiculopathy and eye-hand coordination in patients with chronic unilateral cervical radiculopathy due to a discogenic lesion in the lower cervical spine. Methods. Sixty participants of both sexes participated in this study. Their age ranged from 30 to 50 years old. Patients were selected from governmental hospitals in Zagazig city, Egypt. Participants were divided into two groups: Group I (study group) included 30 patients with chronic unilateral cervical radiculopathy due to a discogenic lesion in the lower cervical spine. Group II (control group) included 30 healthy participants with no complaints. Neck pain intensity was assessed by the numeric pain rating scale. Weight and height were assessed by body mass index (BMI). All participants underwent eye-hand coordination assessment using the Purdue Pegboard Test, the Talking Pen by Wayne Engineering, the wall catch test, and the standardized finger-to-nose test. Results. There was a significant relationship between cervical radiculopathy and eye-hand coordination. There was a statistically significant difference between both groups (p = 0.001) in all eye-hand coordination tests as there was a significant decrease in Purdue Pegboard Test scores, dominant, non-dominant, bilateral, and assembly of the study group compared with that of the control group. There was a significant increase in Talking Pen test time and the number of errors of dominant and non-dominant hands in all tests of the study group compared with that of the control group. There was a significant decrease in standardized finger-to-nose scores and the wall catch test of the study group compared with that of the control group. There was a negative significant correlation between the numeric pain rating scale and Purdue Pegboard Test scores, standardized finger-to-nose test, and wall catch test. There was a positive significant correlation between the numeric pain rating scale and Talking Pen test time and the number of errors while using dominant and non-dominant hands. Conclusions. Patients with cervical radiculopathy have significant impairment in eye-hand coordination. This may give attention to physical therapists during the management of patients with cervical radiculopathy.