Functional Outcomes After Buddy Tape Immobilization in a Healthy Population

Area of Science:

• Orthopedics
• Hand Surgery
• Rehabilitation Medicine

Background:

• Buddy taping is a widely used, cost-effective treatment for various hand conditions.
• It allows for maintained range of motion, differentiating it from static splinting.
• Objective data on the functional impact of buddy taping on daily activities is limited.

Purpose of the Study:

• To objectively quantify the functional deficit caused by buddy taping.
• To measure the impact of buddy taping on typing speed and accuracy.
• To assess changes in self-reported upper extremity function using the PROMIS-UE assessment.

Main Methods:

• Healthy volunteers underwent typing and PROMIS-UE assessments.
• Fingers were buddy taped in all permutations for both dominant and non-dominant hands.
• Statistical analysis (ANOVA, t-tests) compared baseline and taped conditions.

Main Results:

• Typing speed decreased significantly across all configurations (75.4 to 44.8 WPM).
• Accuracy also decreased significantly (92.6% to 84.8%).
• No significant changes were observed in PROMIS-UE scores.

Conclusions:

• Buddy taping demonstrably impairs typing speed and accuracy, especially with left index/middle finger taping.
• Self-reported functional outcomes (PROMIS-UE) were not significantly affected.
• Findings offer objective data to manage patient and stakeholder expectations regarding temporary functional limitations.