Hand exercises while in a cast can improve grip strength

During this morning’s first session at the Australian Hand Surgery Society annual meeting, Dr. Sungaran presented his study on grip strength in older patients treated for a wrist fracture with a cast. This was a prospective, randomised controlled trial (PRCT) which is regarded as high level evidence that the outcomes are of clinical significance.

The main finding of this study was that grip strength was noticeably better in patients who had a hand exercise program even while they were in a cast for their wrist fracture treatment. This had a positive impact on their pain levels and function once the cast was removed.

This was the first study in the current literature to examine an exercise program while in a cast.

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