Current practice and clinical relevance of somatosensory assessment after stroke

Objective: To examine the perceived clinical relevance, current practice an d knowledge of somatosensory testing in three professional groups involved in the management and rehabilitation of stroke. Design: Structured postal questionnaire sent to therapists and doctors. Subjects: One hundred and eighty occupational therapists from the National Association of Neurological Occupational Therapists (NANOT), 180 physiother apists from the Association of Chartered Physiotherapists with an Interest in Neurology (ACPIN) and 360 doctors from the Association of British Neurol ogists (ABN) and the British Geriatrics Society (BSG). Setting: Hospitals and rehabilitation centres in the UK. Results: Replies were obtained from 84 occupational therapists (47%), 98 ph ysiotherapists (55%) and 78 doctors (22%). Sixty-four occupational therapis ts (77%), 82 physiotherapists (84%) and 66 doctors (87%) indicated that the y routinely performed somatosensory assessment as part of their clinical as sessment. The two most commonly used measures were proprioception and light touch. Seventy-eight occupational therapists (93%), 88 physiotherapists (9 0%) and 67 doctors (91%) regarded sensory assessment as clinically signific ant in determining prognosis after stroke. Conclusions: Despite published reservations concerning its usefulness and r eliability, most therapists and doctors routinely assess somatosensory toss after stroke. All three professions agreed that somatosensory testing pres ented useful information for prognosis, Furthermore, all professional group s believe somatosensory assessment to be clinically relevant.