HTCC CCE key terms

The arm, forearm, and hand, together with the shoulder girdle, treated as one functional unit for assessment and rehabilitation after injury or neurological damage.

The scapula and clavicle and their muscular and joint connections to the trunk, which position the arm in space and provide a stable base for hand use.

The coordinated pattern in which scapular upward rotation and humeral elevation combine during arm raising, typically contributing roughly one third of total elevation from the scapula.

Altered position or motion of the scapula during arm movement, such as winging or early elevation, which can reduce shoulder efficiency and contribute to pain.

The four deep shoulder muscles and tendons that centre the humeral head in the glenoid during movement and resist upward translation of the humerus.

The ball-and-socket joint between the humeral head and the shallow glenoid cavity, which allows wide-ranging arm movement and depends on soft tissues for stability.

Bending of the elbow that brings the hand toward the shoulder, produced mainly by the biceps brachii, brachialis, and brachioradialis muscles.

Straightening of the elbow that moves the hand away from the shoulder, produced mainly by the triceps brachii and assisted by gravity in some positions.

A two-headed muscle at the front of the arm that flexes the elbow and supinates the forearm, and also assists shoulder flexion.

A three-headed muscle at the back of the arm that extends the elbow and stabilises the shoulder during pushing tasks.

Rotation of the forearm that turns the palm to face downward or backward, produced by the pronator teres and pronator quadratus with help from gravity.

Rotation of the forearm that turns the palm to face upward or forward, produced mainly by the supinator and biceps brachii muscles.

Backward bending of the wrist that raises the hand, produced by the wrist extensor group and important for grip because it sets optimal finger flexor length.

The act of grasping and holding an object with the hand, including reach, grasp, hold, and release phases that depend on vision and sensation.

A grasp in which an object is held against the palm by the fingers and thumb, such as holding a hammer or a bottle.

A grasp using the tips or pads of the thumb and one or more fingers to hold small objects, including lateral, palmar, and tip pinch patterns.

A grasp that develops when the wrist is extended, passive tension in the finger flexor tendons closes the fingers, used by people with tetraplegia to hold objects.

The maximum force a person can generate when squeezing the hand, commonly measured with a dynamometer and compared with age- and sex-matched norms.

The extent of movement available at a joint, measured in degrees, either actively by the person or passively by the examiner.

Measurement of joint angles with a goniometer to document range of motion and track change over time in rehabilitation.

Grading of a muscle's voluntary strength from zero to five by resisting active movement and palpating contraction, used to track recovery in the upper limb.

Permanent shortening of muscle or connective tissue that restricts joint movement, often developing after immobility, spasticity, or prolonged positioning in the shortened range.

A velocity-dependent increase in muscle tone caused by altered central nervous system control, producing stiffness and resistance to passive movement.

An ordinal clinical scale that grades resistance to passive movement from no increase in tone to rigid flexion or extension, used to monitor spasticity.

A revised tone scale that adds a grade between slight and marked resistance, giving six levels from zero to four to describe resistance during passive movement.

The return of voluntary movement after neurological injury, often described in stages from flaccidity through synergy patterns to isolated movement.

A seven-stage description of motor recovery after stroke, moving from flaccidity through flexor and extensor synergies to near-normal isolated movement.

A stereotyped mass movement of several joints produced by involuntary muscle linkage after brain injury, limiting selective control of the upper limb.

A performance-based scale that scores upper limb movement, sensation, and joint function after stroke, with higher scores indicating better motor recovery.

A measure of real-world upper limb function in which the person performs everyday bimanual tasks such as opening a jar, scored for amount of assistance needed.

A 19-item observational test of grasping, gripping, pinching, and gross arm movement with objects, scored on a four-point scale per item.

A treatment that restrains the less affected arm and intensively trains the affected arm in task practice to overcome learned non-use after stroke.

A pattern in which a person stops attempting to use an affected limb after repeated failure, even when some movement capacity has returned.

Practice of functional, meaningful activities that resemble the person's real goals, rather than isolated joint exercises, to promote transfer to daily life.

Routine self-care tasks such as dressing, feeding, grooming, and toileting, many of which require coordinated upper limb reach and grasp.

Everyday self-care tasks including eating, dressing, bathing, and grooming that depend on upper limb reach, grasp, and release in real contexts.

Damage to the spinal cord that impairs movement and sensation below the level of injury, with upper limb function depending on the neurological level.

A temporary nerve conduction block from compression or stretch without structural damage, producing weakness or numbness that usually recovers over weeks.

Damage to a nerve outside the brain and spinal cord, causing weakness, sensory loss, or pain in the muscles and skin it supplies.