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Practice patterns following carpometacarpal (CMC) arthroplasty
Patricia Siegel1, Dailey Jackson2, Colin Baugh3
1University of New Mexico, Occupational Therapy Graduate Program, Albuquerque, NM, USA.
Study Design:
Descriptive Survey.
Introduction:
Therapy following thumb carpometacarpal (CMC) arthroplasty is a complex issue as there are multiple surgical procedures and postoperative rehabilitative programs.
Purpose Of The Study:
To gather information from therapy practitioners on practice patterns following thumb carpometacarpal (CMC) joint arthroplasty.
Methods:
A web-based survey was sent to 3221 occupational and physical therapists in a single stage via online technology.
Results:
Six-hundred and one (601) therapists responded to the survey. Key findings included: Most therapists (45.5%) indicated that the therapy program they use was developed in collaboration with the referring surgeon. In addition, most patients received a plaster splint or long thumb spica orthosis following surgery, but time frames for use varied widely. Fifty-five percent of respondents waited until after 22 days postsurgery to initiate active flexion/extension of the wrist, while 19.5% initiated wrist flexion/extension between eight and 14 days postsurgery. Ten percent of respondents initiated active thumb flexion/extension within the first postoperative week, while 55% of respondents did not initiate thumb motion until 22 or more days following surgery. Few respondents (5.7%) indicated that they used a published evidence-based treatment program to guide therapy following thumb CMC arthroplasty surgery.
Conclusion:
This study demonstrates that multiple therapy programs exist and rehabilitation following thumb CMC arthroplasty predominantly utilizes clinical expertise.
