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Joint protection and home hand exercises improve hand function in patients with hand osteoarthritis: a randomized
Tanja Alexandra Stamm1, Klaus Peter Machold, Josef Sebastian Smolen
1Vienna University, Vienna, Austria. Tanja.Stamm@akh-wien.ac.at
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.