gms | German Medical Science

14th Triennial Congress of the International Federation of Societies for Surgery of the Hand (IFSSH), 11th Triennial Congress of the International Federation of Societies for Hand Therapy (IFSHT)

17.06. - 21.06.2019, Berlin

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Effects of a Non-surgical Rehabilitation Program on Pain and Function for Adults with Acute Triangular Fibrocartilage Complex Injury

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  • presenting/speaker Liying Pang - National University Hospital, Singapore, Singapore
  • Yu Li Lye - National University Hospital, Singapore, Singapore
  • Un San Christina Tai - National University Hospital, Singapore, Singapore

International Federation of Societies for Surgery of the Hand. International Federation of Societies for Hand Therapy. 14th Triennial Congress of the International Federation of Societies for Surgery of the Hand (IFSSH), 11th Triennial Congress of the International Federation of Societies for Hand Therapy (IFSHT), 11th Triennial Congress of the International Federation of Societies for Hand Therapy (IFSHT). Berlin, 17.-21.06.2019. Düsseldorf: German Medical Science GMS Publishing House; 2020. DocIFSHT19-1043

doi: 10.3205/19ifssh1572, urn:nbn:de:0183-19ifssh15729

Published: February 6, 2020

© 2020 Pang et al.
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License. See license information at http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.

Outline

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Objective: There is currently no specific non-surgical rehabilitation program described for individuals with acute triangular fibrocartilage complex (TFCC) injuries. This exploratory study looks at the preliminary results of a structured rehabilitation program on pain and function in adults with acute TFCC injury.

Materials and Methods: Seven participants completed the 20 weeks rehabilitation program, consisting of seven sessions. Three sessions were focused on splinting, activity modification and joint protection techniques. Four sessions were focused on neuromuscular retraining. Primary outcome measures were the Visual Analog Scale for pain, and the Disability of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand questionnaire for self-rated disability and symptoms. Secondary outcome measures were the Patient-Specific Functional Scale for the ability to perform valued activities, the Jamar dynamometer for grip strength and percentage weight bearing tolerance using an analog weighing scale. All outcome measures were recorded at baseline, 12 weeks, and 20 weeks.

Results: Significant improvements in self-rated disability and symptoms, ability to perform valued activities, grip strength and percentage weight bearing tolerance were demonstrated across the 3-time points (p < .01). Post hoc analyses revealed that these improvements were statistically significant between baseline and 20 weeks of rehabilitation with large effect sizes (r = .63-.64), but not between baseline and 12 weeks of rehabilitation. Pain during activity reduced across the 3-time points but was not statistically significant (p = .23).

Conclusions: The results of this study demonstrated that a seven-visit 20 weeks rehabilitation program resulted in statistically significant improvements in functional outcomes. For adults who are suffering from acute TFCC injuries, this rehabilitation program has the potential to eliminate the need for surgical interventions, which translates into reduced associated costs resulting from hospitalizations, medical leaves, and absence from work.