Moberg Pick-Up Test

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Top Contributors - Agoro Bukola Zainab and Shaimaa Eldib  

Objective

Moberg pickup test (MPUT) is a standardized test to assess for hand dexterity and functional sensibility. It is a timed test first used in neuro-rehabilitation to evaluate hand motor activity. It is simple and quick to administer, easy to replicate and inexpensive to acquire.

Intended Population

Moberg Pickup test is used to evaluate functional performance in patients with hand pathologies that include:

• Carpal tunnel syndrome (16)
• Hand inflammatory disease
  • Rheumatoid  arthritis (14)
• Osteoarthritis (19)
• Peripheral nerve injury

Method of Use

Equipments Required:

• 60 x 30 cm Plastic desk-blotter
• 3 x 8 x 5 cm Plastic box
• 12 Small metallic objects
  • 5 cm fine screw
  • 2.3 cm wide screw
  • 3.3 and 2.8 cm paper clips
  • 1.4 cm diameter ring
  • 3.8 cm safety pin
  • Two (2) small nuts
  • One (1) wing nut
  • 2.8 cm and 2.2 cm diameter coins
  • 5.5 cm key
• Stopwatch

Description:

The MPUT is done in two phases; 1) with eyes open, and 2) with eyes closed. For each phase of the test, the dominant hand is tested first.

The test uses a plastic desk-blotter, a plastic box, 12 small metallic objects (screws, paper clips, diameter ring, safety pin, small nuts, coins and key) and a stopwatch. The desk-blotter is placed lengthwise on a table. Individuals are seated in a chair facing it, their self-reported dominant hand resting on the table beside the desk-blotter Ambidextrous individuals are asked to pick a small object on the table; the spontaneously chosen hand is considered as dominant. The box is placed on the desk-blotter and the 12 objects are dispersed randomly close to the box on the side of the dominant hand. Individuals are instructed to pick up each object one-by-one and place them in the box as quickly as possible, without sliding them. Time is recorded from the start order until the last object is dropped off. (1)

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Scoring:

Table 1. Normative values for Moberg Pick-Up Test (2)

	Young (20 – 39 years)		Middle-aged (40 – 59 years)		Old (60+ years)
	Female	Male	Female	Male	Female	Male
Eyes open
Dominant hand	12.0	12.3	12.6	16.5	16	16.8
Nondominant hand	12.5	14.0	13.3	18.0	18.0	15.4
Eyes closed
Dominant hand	23.8	22.5	23.0	27.8	27.8	29.9
Nondominant hand	23.6	21.6	24.1	31.5	31.5	31.23

Evidence

Several studies have shown MPUT to be a good test in evaluating the functional performance of upper limbs in rheumatology (14, 15), patients with carpal tunnel syndrome, osteoarthritis (19), and in absence of upper limb pathology (17, 18). Albeit reported a good to excellent test-retest and inter-rater reliability of the MPUT (16, 17).