Background: The palmaris longus (PL) is a forearm muscle that is absent in a large portion of the population whose contribution to hand function is not fully understood. This work aims to determine if the PL influences hand steadiness during simulated surgical tasks which would have implications for procedural success.
Methods: Fifty participants ranging in age from 22-53 underwent bilateral PL assessment using Schaeffer’s test and ultrasonography. The outcomes tested were the number and time of successful or failed removals in a simulated surgical task (Operation game), grip strength measured by dynamometer, and fatigue resistance measured by total time spent doing constant 5-pound wrist curls.
Results: The PL was present in 76% of dominant hands and 82% of nondominant hands. Participants with PL in the dominant hand showed significantly faster successful removal times and prolonged time to failure compared to those without a PL. PL status was not linked with grip strength but males did display significantly greater grip strength than females in all conditions. When PL was present, there were no significant differences between fatigue resistance in dominant and nondominant hands. When PL was absent, there was significantly greater fatigue resistance in dominant hands.
Conclusions: The presence of the PL tendon in an already dominant hand appears to enhance hand steadiness in simulated surgical tasks while attenuating dominance-related differences in fatigue resistance tasks. This indicates that having the PL in a dominant hand may have advantages in high-dexterity procedures such as surgery where prolonged fine motor control is necessary.
Methods: Fifty participants ranging in age from 22-53 underwent bilateral PL assessment using Schaeffer’s test and ultrasonography. The outcomes tested were the number and time of successful or failed removals in a simulated surgical task (Operation game), grip strength measured by dynamometer, and fatigue resistance measured by total time spent doing constant 5-pound wrist curls.
Results: The PL was present in 76% of dominant hands and 82% of nondominant hands. Participants with PL in the dominant hand showed significantly faster successful removal times and prolonged time to failure compared to those without a PL. PL status was not linked with grip strength but males did display significantly greater grip strength than females in all conditions. When PL was present, there were no significant differences between fatigue resistance in dominant and nondominant hands. When PL was absent, there was significantly greater fatigue resistance in dominant hands.
Conclusions: The presence of the PL tendon in an already dominant hand appears to enhance hand steadiness in simulated surgical tasks while attenuating dominance-related differences in fatigue resistance tasks. This indicates that having the PL in a dominant hand may have advantages in high-dexterity procedures such as surgery where prolonged fine motor control is necessary.