March Research Update
Measuring Up to Expectation: Cognitive Bias in Wrist Range-of-Motion Measurement
Can Goniometric Measurements Be Influenced By Examiner Bias?
A new study from the Physical Therapy Department of Hadassah Medical Center in Jerusalem suggests that information provided to physical therapists prior to wrist range of motion assessment was associated with differential results of objective goniometric measurement of the wrist. Therapists received different information regarding the clinical condition of a healthy woman with no history of wrist injury. Therapists who were told the injury and outcome were more severe consistently measured the wrist motion as more limited, suggesting cognitive bias.
Journal Source: Journal of Orthopaedic and Sports Physical Therapy
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Note: For non Journal of Hand Therapy articles: If you or your institution cannot access the complete article via the link, please contact Aviva Wolff, ASHT Research Division Director at wolffa@hss.edu.
April Research Update
Does sensory relearning improve tactile function after carpal tunnel decompression? A pragmatic, assessor-blinded, randomized clinical trial.
Does sensory relearning via the performance of sensory re-education activities improve tactile function for individuals with chronic numbness greater than one year status post carpal tunnel release?
A recent prospective, randomized controlled trial out of the UK suggests that a home exercise program of short intensive daily sensory re-education tasks did not significantly impact tactile gnosis (measured via the Shape Identification Test), touch threshold, performance on the locognosia test, and outcome of the Moberg Pick-up Test for individuals with at least minor numbness and difficulty using small objects one year or more after carpal tunnel release. The authors (Jerosch-Herold and colleagues) did find a small change in patient reported function through the Michigan Hand Outcome Questionnaire, but cautioned that this did not meet clinical significance and may have been affected by study drop outs who had low self-reported functional statuses at the start of the study. The study concludes that sensory relearning for chronic sensory and functional deficits after carpal tunnel decompression is not effective.
Journal Source: The Journal of Hand Surgery (European Volume)
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Note: For non Journal of Hand Therapy articles: If you or your institution cannot access the complete article via the link, please contact Aviva Wolff, ASHT Research Division Director at wolffa@hss.edu.
May Research Update
New study finds that a combination of occupation based intervention and therapeutic exercise produces better recovery than therapeutic exercise alone in hand injured people.
Limited evidence is available to support Occupation Based Intervention (OBI), a therapeutic agent that utilizes occupations (e.g. ADLs, IADLs, work, leisure etc.) and purposeful activity (e.g. writing practice, shoelace tying, shirt buttoning etc.) as a treatment medium. The purpose of this study was to investigate the efficacy of OBI and therapeutic exercise (i.e. assisted AROM/PROM, AROM and strengthening) in comparison to therapeutic exercise alone in hand injury rehabilitation practice. They found that a combination of OBI and therapeutic exercise produced better recovery according to DASH scores, total active motion, neuropathic pain, COPM performance and COPM satisfaction than TE alone in patients with hand injury.
Journal Source: The Journal of Hand Therapy
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Note: For non Journal of Hand Therapy articles: If you or your institution cannot access the complete article via the link, please contact Aviva Wolff, ASHT Research Division Director at wolffa@hss.edu.
June Research Update
Development of an updated normative data table for hand grip and pinch strength: A pilot study.
The time has come to update our norms for grip and pinch measures!
A new pilot study found statistically significant differences in hand grips strength in a group of 120 healthy subjects compared to the norms established by Mathiowetz et al over 30 years ago. The new study stratified data by gender, age and handedness and found differences across several groups. Negative differences were more frequent than positive differences, particularly in subjects under the age of 45. These preliminary findings suggest that overall as a population this group has decreased hand grip strength compared to previous populations. The authors conclude that further testing in a larger group is necessary in order to update normative standards to reflect current ability for use in clinical practice.
Journal Source: Computers in Biology and Medicine
Larson, C.C. and Ye, Z. Development of an updated normative data table for hand grip and pinch strength: A Pilot Study. Computers in Biology and Medicine. 2017
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Note: For non Journal of Hand Therapy articles: If you or your institution cannot access the complete article via the link, please contact Aviva Wolff, ASHT Research Division Director at wolffa@hss.edu.
July Research Update
The effects of below-elbow immobilization on driving performance
Does wearing a thumb spica or wrist immobilization impact driving performance?
A cohort of 20 healthy subjects completed a cone-marked driving course with four forms of below-elbow immobilization (short-arm cast, wrist orthosis, thumb spica cast and spica orthosis) and without any immobilization. The outcomes measures included pass/fail score from a certified driving instructor, subject-perceived difficulty, number of cones hit and driving time. The researchers found the greatest number of failing scores from a certified driving instructor occurred with use of a right or left thumb spica cast. All forms of immobilization with the exception of the left wrist orthosis increased subject-perceived difficulty compared to the control run, but there was no difference in number of cones hit or driving time in the different situations.
Journal Source: Injury
Jones, E.M., Barrow, A.E., Skordas, N.J., Green, D.P. and Cho, M.S. The effects of below-elbow immobilization on driving performance. Injury. 2017
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Note: For non Journal of Hand Therapy articles: If you or your institution cannot access the complete article via the link, please contact Aviva Wolff, ASHT Research Division Director at wolffa@hss.edu.
August Research Update
Optimizing the rehabilitation of elbow lateral collateral ligament injuries: a biomechanical study
What is the optimal method for rehabilitating LCL (lateral collateral ligament) injury of the elbow?
In this study, LCL injury, LCL with common extensor origin injury and an intact elbow was actively and passively tested in seven cadavers in three arm positions (overhead, dependent and varus) and two forearm positions (pronation and supination). The researchers conclude that rehabilitation with the arm overhead is the most stable, and might decrease stiffness and promote ligament healing. If rehabilitation occurs in the dependent position, active pronation is encouraged. Varus arm position was found to be the least stable and is discouraged. .
Journal Source: Journal of Shoulder and Elbow Surgery
Manocha, Ranita HK, et al. "Optimizing the rehabilitation of elbow lateral collateral ligament injuries: a biomechanical study." Journal of Shoulder and Elbow Surgery. 26.4 (2017): 596-603.
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Note: For non Journal of Hand Therapy articles: If you or your institution cannot access the complete article via the link, please contact Aviva Wolff, ASHT Research Division Director at wolffa@hss.edu.
September Research Update
Effects of underwater ultrasound therapy on pain, inflammation, hand function and quality of life in patients with rheumatoid arthritis - a randomized controlled trial.
Does underwater ultrasound affect pain, inflammation, hand function and quality of life in patients with rheumatoid arthritis?
Previous research results have already confirmed the effects of ultrasound therapy on pain and function in a range of musculoskeletal disorders. In this randomized controlled trial, 25 patients received seven minutes of underwater ultrasound at 0.7W/cm2 for 10 sessions to both hands and wrists. The 23 patients in the control group received sham treatment under the same conditions. The researchers found promising short-term (two-week post-treatment) effects of underwater US therapy on pain, quality of life and joint function in patients with rheumatoid arthritis, but in the long-term (14 weeks post-treatment) ultrasound was not superior to sham treatment.
Journal Source: Brazilian Journal of Physical Therapy
Kiraly M. et al. “Effects of underwater ultrasound therapy on pain, inflammation, hand function and quality of life in patients with rheumatoid arthritis - a randomized controlled trial.” Brazilian Journal of Physical Therapy. 2017.
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Note: For non Journal of Hand Therapy articles: If you or your institution cannot access the complete article via the link, please contact Aviva Wolff, ASHT Research Division Director at wolffa@hss.edu.
October Research Update
Factors predicting health status and recovery of hand function after hand burns in the second year after hospital discharge.
Are there patient and clinical characteristics that predict health status and recovery of hand function after hand burn injury?
A sample of 41 community dwelling adults (80.5% males) who were between one and two years after admission to a burn clinic for treatment of burns to one or both of their hands were asked to complete the Burns Specific Health Scale-Brief (BSHS-B) and the Brief Michigan Hand Outcome Questionnaire (Brief MHQ). These questionnaires in addition to their demographic, injury and treatment data were used to identify predictors of outcomes. The researchers found that psychiatric illness and female gender were key predictors of poorer global status on the BSHS-B. In addition, the need for reconstructive surgery and female gender were important predictors of poorer hand function, leading the researchers to conclude that individuals with these characteristics might benefit from intensive rehabilitation support and long-term follow-up.
Journal Source: Burns
Knight A et al. "Factors predicting health status and recovery of hand function after hand burns in the second year after hospital discharge." Burns. 2017.
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Note: For non Journal of Hand Therapy articles: If you or your institution cannot access the complete article via the link, please contact Aviva Wolff, ASHT Research Division Director at wolffa@hss.edu.
November Research Update
Early outcomes of The Birmingham Wrist Instability Programme: A pragmatic intervention for stage one scapholunate instability.
New rehab program for wrist instability shows promising outcomes.
Six patients with stage 1 scapho-lunate ligament injury participated in The Birmingham Wrist Instability Programme, a program that targets proprioceptive training for wrist instability over a 16 month period. Following participation in the program, improvements were reported in this small pilot cohort for grip strength, pain, and self-reported outcomes (DASH & Euro-Qol). These early findings suggest promising outcomes of this type of intervention for SL injury rehabilitation.
Journal Source: Hand Therapy
Holmes MK, Taylor S, Miller C, and Brewster MBS. "Early outcomes of The Birmingham Wrist Instability Programme: A pragmatic intervention for stage one scapholunate instability." Hand Therapy. 2017.
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Note: For non Journal of Hand Therapy articles: If you or your institution cannot access the complete article via the link, please contact Aviva Wolff, ASHT Research Division Director at wolffa@hss.edu.
December Research Update
Night splinting for idiopathic trigger digits.
Is the use of a nighttime-only orthosis effective in decreasing symptoms of trigger finger?
A sample of 46 individuals with Quinnell grade I or 2 trigger fingers (actively correctable symptoms for less than three months) were issued a custom orthosis for night wear only to be used for six weeks. The orthosis was an MCP block orthosis with the IP joints free for the digits or a hand-based thumb spica including the IP for the thumb. Fifty-three percent of the 34 participants who did follow-up had complete resolution of symptoms, and pain and function according to the Quick DASH improved following the six weeks of orthosis use for these participants. Satisfaction with the treatment was rated as 5.8/10 with greater satisfaction among the participants with resolution of their symptoms.
Journal Source: Hand
Drijkoningen T, van Berckel M, Becker SJ, Ring DC, Mudgal CS. “Night splinting for idiopathic trigger digits.” Hand. 2017; Aug 1: 1558944717725374.
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Note: For non Journal of Hand Therapy articles: If you or your institution cannot access the complete article via the link, please contact Aviva Wolff, ASHT Research Division Director at wolffa@hss.edu.