Movement is a Sensory Phenomenon.

Hand Clin · Aug 2026 · Review

Tereshenko V, Aszmann OC

Department of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgery, Medical University of Vienna, Austria

Hand & Upper Extremity

SUMMARY — THE REDUCTIONThis conceptual article explores how sensory feedback is fundamental to movement and argues that sensory restoration remains behind motor advances in bionic hand reconstruction.
Abstract, as published

Sensing is the crucial undercurrent of life, enabling not just grasping a loved one's hand or tying laces, but expressing emotions or creating art. Having evolved since bacterial chemotaxis-a driving force of motility-it's profoundly underrated in movement, often seen as mere byproduct. This article glimpses the evolution of sensing across species, its convergence with motor commands, and deep interdependence. In bionic reconstruction, sensory restoration lags motor advances; we highlight the challenge of translating binary machine signals into the homunculus's stereognostic language, while spotlighting promising biological interfaces pivotal for embodiment of bionic hands.

Featured in the 2026-09-15 issue.

← Surgical Techniques to Manage the Unstable Volar Lunate Facet…Long-term functional decline following upper limb botulinum t… →

The Reduction is a free email digest of newly published orthopaedic literature — a handful of new papers in the subspecialties you choose, each summarized like this one. Subscribe free or browse the archive.