Weighted Utensils Research 3
Weighted Utensils Research
This Blog reviews a weighted utensils research article entitled: “Adapted Feeding Utensils for People with Parkinson’s Related or Essential Tremor” The study was published in the American Journal of Occupational Therapy on March 12, 2019.
The study examined speed and subject’s subjective assessment of performance on a simulated feeding task under four conditions.
- With a standard spoon
- With a weighted spoon of standard spoon dimensions
- With a weighted spoon and a built up handle
- With the Liftware Steady spoon (a spoon with computerized tremor dampening capability)
The subjects were twenty two volunteers who had either Parkinson’s or Essential Tremor and expressed difficulty with self feeding. This was a within subject study design. The subjects were timed for the simulated feeding task and also completed a Likert type seven point assessment scale of their perceptions of speed, ease of use, neatness and appearance of each of the spoons. The scale used was called a CG1-1 scale. The scale items were phrased like “This spoon is easier than a standard spoon” In my opinion this inserts bias into the study that shouldn’t be there. It would be better to just rate each spoon without this comparison to a standard spoon. The other outcome that was measured was the speed taken to complete a number of repetitions of transferring Cheerios from a plate level bowl to a chin level bowl.
So what were the outcomes? No spoon outperformed the others to a statistically significant level for any of the outcome measures. The Liftware Steady spoon and the weighted but not built up handle spoon performed best in terms of perceived ease of use. The standard spoon performed best with speed! The swivel spoon had the slowest time. The researchers also collected the subject’s comments about the different utensils which I thought was a nice inclusion in the discussion. Some of the comments the authors cited are included below:
Weighted Spoon: One “Liked it better”, one would “consider purchasing one”, one thought it “performed better” and one thought it “increase rigidity and pain in the shoulder”
Weighted and Built Up Spoon: One thought “The device is a disaster and makes my rigidity worse. One stated “It just didn’t work”. Several commented that both weighted spoons were not a good option for older people with weakness.
Swivel Spoon: Comments were mostly negative although less spillage was reported and one stated they “Would like to try it at home.”
Liftware Steady Spoon: One stated it “settled his hand”. One stated he “liked the feel of it”. One thought it was “the best” One thought it had a “clumsy grip” One thought the spoon section was “too small”. One thought it “didn’t compensate for my tremor.” Three wanted to try it at home.
The Author’s Conclusions: The hypothesis that the Liftware Steady would be better for speed and CG-1 response findings was not supported.
In summary, this study advances weighted utensils research. This study is to my knowledge the most recent study examining the effectiveness of built up and weighted utensils on self feeding performance. The results are in line with previous studies in which no evidence of effectiveness of weighted utensils was found. The Liftware utensil of course is in another category from weighted utensils. In this study the results indicate no statistically significant improvement with the Liftware spoon compared to the other spoons. There were positive comments however which may be promising. In clinical practice trial and error is an acceptable strategy when it comes to adaptive utensils and no product or strategy should be blanketly ruled out. A combination of strategies and devices may prove to be effective.
We developed the Stable Slide feeding device to help with eating ability for individuals with intention tremors, not resting tremors as with Parkinson’s and Essential Tremor.
Update: 2-24 We will be launching soon the ChillSpill eating aid for tremor activity at mealtime.
It might be useful, however to see how a combination of the the Stable Slide with the Liftware Steady would work for some individuals.
For more information on this topic please visit our Blog: Weighted Utensils: Are They Effective? Thanks for visiting today. Please check back for new blogs on independent dining and we invite you to contact us at anytime.
Study Citation:
Sabani J, Sefanov D, Chan J, Goed L, and Starr J. “Adapted Feeding Utensils for People with Parkinson’s Related or Essential Tremor” AJOT March 2019.