title: Joint protection and home hand exercises improve hand function in patients with hand osteoarthritis: a randomized controlled trial.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine the effect of joint protection and home exercises on hand function of patients with hand osteoarthritis (OA).
  
  
  METHODS
  Randomized, controlled, 3-month trial with a blinded assessor. Primary outcome parameter was grip strength; secondary parameters were Health Assessment Questionnaire and visual analog scales (VAS) for pain and global hand function. Forty patients with hand OA were randomly assigned to 2 groups: One group received instruction for joint protection and home hand exercises (JPE group), the control group received an information session about hand OA.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Grip strength improved by 25% in the JPE group (right hand, P < 0.0001; left hand, P = 0.0005), but not in the control group. Global hand function (by VAS) improved in a larger proportion (65%) of patients in the JPE group (P < 0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Joint protection and hand home exercises, easily administered and readily acceptable interventions, were found to increase grip strength and global hand function.
authors.affiliation: Vienna University, Vienna, Austria. Tanja.Stamm@akh-wien.ac.at
authors.forename: Tanja Alexandra
authors.initials: TA
authors.lastname: Stamm
authors.forename: Klaus Peter
authors.initials: KP
authors.lastname: Machold
authors.forename: Josef Sebastian
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Smolen
authors.forename: Sabine
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Fischer
authors.forename: Kurt
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Redlich
authors.forename: Winfried
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Graninger
authors.forename: Wolfgang
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Ebner
authors.forename: Ludwig
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Erlacher
mesh_terms: D000553:Ambulatory Care; D000554:Ambulatory Care Facilities; D001317:Austria; D005081:Exercise Therapy; D005260:Female; D005384:Finger Joint / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006225:Hand / Q000503:physiopathology*; D018737:Hand Strength / Q000502:physiology; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010003:Osteoarthritis / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy*; D010147:Pain Measurement; D016037:Single-Blind Method; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D016896:Treatment Outcome