Joint protection and home hand exercises improve hand function in patients with hand osteoarthritis: a randomized controlled trial.
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.
Stamm
Tanja Alexandra
TA
Vienna University, Vienna, Austria. Tanja.Stamm@akh-wien.ac.at
Machold
Klaus Peter
KP
Smolen
Josef Sebastian
JS
Fischer
Sabine
S
Redlich
Kurt
K
Graninger
Winfried
W
Ebner
Wolfgang
W
Erlacher
Ludwig
L
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