Citation: Alves, C.M.; Rezende, A.R.;
Marques, I.A.; Mendes, L.C.; de Sá,
A.A.R.; Vieira, M.F.; Júnior, E.A.L.;
Pereira, A.A.; Oliveira, F.H.M.; de
Souza, L.P.S.; et al. Wrist Rigidity
Evaluation in Parkinson’s Disease: A
Scoping Review. Healthcare 2022, 10,
2178. https://doi.org/10.3390/
healthcare10112178
Academic Editor: Nicos
K. Maglaveras
Received: 22 September 2022
Accepted: 26 October 2022
Published: 31 October 2022
Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral
with regard to jurisdictional claims in
published maps and institutional affil-
iations.
Copyright: © 2022 by the authors.
Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
This article is an open access article
distributed under the terms and
conditions of the Creative Commons
Attribution (CC BY) license (https://
creativecommons.org/licenses/by/
4.0/).
healthcare
Review
Wrist Rigidity Evaluation in Parkinson’s Disease:
A Scoping Review
Camille Marques Alves
1,2,
* , Andressa Rastrelo Rezende
1
, Isabela Alves Marques
2,3
,
Luanne Cardoso Mendes
2,3
, Angela Abreu Rosa de Sá
1
, Marcus Fraga Vieira
4
,
Edgard Afonso Lamounier Júnior
5
, Adriano Alves Pereira
3
,Fábio Henrique Monteiro Oliveira
6
,
Luciane Pascucci Sande de Souza
7
, Guy Bourhis
2
, Pierre Pino
2
, Adriano de Oliveira Andrade
3
, Yann Morère
2
and Eduardo Lázaro Martins Naves
1
1
Assistive Technology Laboratory (NTA), Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Federal University of Uberlândia,
Uberlândia 38400-902, Brazil
2
Laboratoire de Conception, d’Optimisation et de Modélisation des Systèmes (LCOMS), Université de
Lorraine, 57070 Metz, France
3
Centre for Innovation and Technology Assessment in Health (NIATS), Faculty of Electrical Engineering,
Federal University of Uberlândia, Uberlândia 38400-902, Brazil
4
Bioengineering and Biomechanics Laboratory (Labioeng), Federal University of Goiás,
Goiânia 74690-900, Brazil
5
Computer Graphics Laboratory (CG), Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Federal University of Uberlândia,
Uberlândia 38400-902, Brazil
6
Federal Institute of Education, Science and Technology of Brasília—Brasília Campus (IFB),
Brasília 70830-450, Brazil
7
Applied Physical Therapy Department, Federal University of Triangulo Mineiro, Uberaba 38025-180, Brazil
* Correspondence: malves.camille@gmail.com; Tel.: +33-07-67-96-67-36
Abstract: (1) Background: One of the main cardinal signs of Parkinson’s disease (PD) is rigidity,
whose assessment is important for monitoring the patient’s recovery. The wrist is one of the joints
most affected by this symptom, which has a great impact on activities of daily living and consequently
on quality of life. The assessment of rigidity is traditionally made by clinical scales, which have
limitations due to their subjectivity and low intra- and inter-examiner reliability. (2) Objectives: To
compile the main methods used to assess wrist rigidity in PD and to study their validity and reliability,
a scope review was conducted. (3) Methods: PubMed, IEEE/IET Electronic Library, Web of Science,
Scopus, Cochrane, Bireme, Google Scholar and Science Direct databases were used. (4) Results:
Twenty-eight studies were included. The studies presented several methods for quantitative assess-
ment of rigidity using instruments such as force and inertial sensors. (5) Conclusions: Such methods
present good correlation with clinical scales and are useful for detecting and monitoring rigidity.
However, the development of a standard quantitative method for assessing rigidity in clinical practice
remains a challenge.
Keywords: rigidity assessment; Parkinson’s disease; wrist rigidity
1. Introduction
Parkinson disease (PD) is one of the most common neurodegenerative disorders, af-
fecting 2–3% of the population above 65 years old [1]. PD is characterized by the presence
of Lewy bodies containing α-synuclein in dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra
of the midbrain [2]. The resulting loss of dopaminergic neurons impairs voluntary and
involuntary movement, as well as autonomic [3]. This accumulation of α-synuclein be-
comes more widespread in the brain during PD progression [4]. Motor disorders, slow
initiation of voluntary movements, and increasing reduction in the speed and amplitude
of repetitive activities (bradykinesia) are clinical signs of PD. Rigidity, resting tremor, or
Healthcare 2022, 10, 2178. https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare10112178 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/healthcare