Continuous passive motion after tenolysis in hand therapy patients: a retrospective study

Continuous passive motion (CPM) is a common adjunct to the postoperative therapy program. Use of CPM has been advocated for a variety of diagnoses in hand rehabilitation. This retrospective study compares two groups of patients who underwent digital tenolysis (and/or capsulectomy) and evaluates the use of CPM in their postoperative therapeutic management. Both groups had initial injuries of fractures, tendon lacerations, and/or crush injuries resulting in surgical intervention. After therapeutic rehabilitation, the patients failed to gain satisfactory active ROM and elected to proceed with a secondary surgical procedure. Fifteen patients (19 digits) who used CPM machines in addition to their home exercise program were compared to 21 patients (24 digits) who did not use CPM. Primary outcome comparisons for this study were change in total active motion (TAM) over time (preoperative to discharge from therapy), duration of therapy, and total number of therapy visits. There was no significant difference (F=1.16, p=0.29) in the change in TAM for patients using CPM (39.89 degrees ) compared to those not using CPM treatment (31.83 degrees ). Furthermore, CPM users were seen for significantly more therapy sessions than non-CPM users (25.7 therapy visits compared to 18.54 therapy visits). Rehabilitation lasted approximately the same amount of weeks for both groups (CPM users 10.21 weeks vs. non-CPM users 11.42 weeks).