Feedback-guided exercises performed on a tablet touchscreen improve return to work, function, strength and healthcare usage more than an exercise program prescribed on paper for people with wrist, hand or finger injuries: a randomised trial
Question In people with bone and soft tissue injuries of the wrist, hand and/or fingers, do feedback-guided exercises performed on a tablet touchscreen hasten return to work, reduce healthcare usage and improve clinical recovery more than a home exercise program prescribed on paper? Design Randomise...
| Authors: | , , , , , , |
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| Format: | article |
| Status: | Published version |
| Publication Date: | 2020 |
| Country: | España |
| Institution: | Universidad de Sevilla (US) |
| Repository: | idUS. Depósito de Investigación de la Universidad de Sevilla |
| OAI Identifier: | oai:idus.us.es:11441/146155 |
| Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/11441/146155 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jphys.2020.09.012 |
| Access Level: | Open access |
| Keyword: | Telerehabilitation Exercise therapy Return to work Occupational medicine Mobile applications Physical therapy |
| Summary: | Question In people with bone and soft tissue injuries of the wrist, hand and/or fingers, do feedback-guided exercises performed on a tablet touchscreen hasten return to work, reduce healthcare usage and improve clinical recovery more than a home exercise program prescribed on paper? Design Randomised, parallel-group trial with concealed allocation, assessor blinding and intention-to-treat analysis. Participants Seventy-four workers with limited functional ability due to bone and soft tissue injuries of the wrist, hand and/or fingers. Intervention Participants in the experimental and control groups received the same in-patient physiotherapy and occupational therapy. Participants in the experimental group received a home exercise program using the ReHand tablet application, which guides exercises performed on a tablet touchscreen with feedback, monitoring and progression. Participants in the control group were prescribed an evidence-based home exercise program on paper. Outcome measures The primary outcome was the time taken to return to work. Secondary outcomes included: healthcare usage (number of clinical appointments); and functional ability, pain intensity, and grip and pinch strength 2 and 4 weeks after randomisation. Results Compared with the control group, the experimental group: returned to work sooner (MD –18 days, 95% CI –33 to –3); required fewer physiotherapy sessions (MD –7.4, 95% CI –13.1 to –1.6), rehabilitation consultations (MD –1.9, 95% CI –3.6 to 0.3) and plastic surgery consultations (MD –3.6, 95% CI –6.3 to –0.9); and had better short-term recovery of functional ability and pinch strength. Conclusion In people with bone and soft-tissue injuries of the wrist, hand and/or fingers, prescribing a feedback-guided home exercise program using a tablet-based application instead of a conventional program on paper hastened return to work and improved the short-term recovery of functional ability and pinch strength, while reducing the number of required healthcare appointments. |
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