title: Do physical therapy and occupational therapy reduce the impairment percentage in reflex sympathetic dystrophy?
abstract: Reflex sympathetic dystrophy (RSD) is a disorder that can potentially result in permanent impairment. Because there are no adequate comparative studies regarding the additional value of physical therapy (PT) or occupational therapy (OT) for reducing the severity of permanent impairment in RSD, we prospectively investigated their effectiveness. At two university hospitals, we randomly assigned 135 patients with RSD of one upper limb, existing for <1 yr, to PT, OT, or control therapy (CT). One year after inclusion, impairment percentages were calculated according to the general method of the American Medical Association's Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment. For statistical evaluation, the Wilcoxon's signed-rank test (two-sided; alpha = 0.05) was used. The mean whole body impairments were as follows: PT, 21.6% and 19.1%; OT, 22.8% and 22.1%; CT, 22.0% and 22.1% (intention-to-treat and per protocol analysis, respectively). There were no significant differences between the groups. We conclude that impairment percentages in RSD patients treated with PT or OT did not differ significantly from those treated with CT at 12 months after inclusion.
authors.affiliation: Allied Health Services, University Hospital Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: H M
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Oerlemans
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Goris
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: de Boo
authors.forename: R A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Oostendorp
mesh_terms: D001132:Arm / Q000503:physiopathology; D001831:Body Temperature / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D016166:Free Radical Scavengers / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009788:Occupational Therapy; D026741:Physical Therapy Modalities; D011379:Prognosis; D011446:Prospective Studies; D016059:Range of Motion, Articular / Q000502:physiology; D012019:Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D016037:Single-Blind Method; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014665:Vasodilator Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use
chemical_list: D016166:Free Radical Scavengers; D014665:Vasodilator Agents