However, it did not quantify the relative amount of difficulty, it did not address how it changed over time and was not specific to any given wrist pathology. This study provided some useful information on the types of activities that are difficult for patients following a wrist injury. The authors also described compensatory mechanisms used by patients to assist them in dealing with their disability, as well as a number of positive and negative effects of their wrist problem. The most common categories reported to present difficulty to patients were: work activities (65 percent) or domestic duties (54 percent). A variety of activities were reported to be difficult, with the two most common reported, eating with utensils and work activities involving grasping/lifting. These patients had symptoms which had been present for 1–164 months (average 19). A semi-structured interview process was used to obtain information about the patient's status prior to injury, specific activities which were difficult to perform, compensatory mechanisms that patients used to deal with their limited function, and the patient's self-reported main problem. However, this data does not illustrate what specific aspects of function were most affected, nor what percentage of patients experienced particular difficulties.Ī recent qualitative study investigated the disability experience of a selected group of wrist-injured patients. This summary information can be used to compare outcome at the group or aggregate level. We have previously reported aggregate scores for a number of outcomes, including patient self-report scales (Patient-rated Wrist Evaluation, DASH and the SF-36) in a cohort of patients with distal radius fractures followed at specific intervals for one year. Only recently, have standardized measures indicating disability from the perspective of the patient with a wrist injury been included in reports of outcomes after distal radius fracture. Thus, even well-designed longitudinal studies focusing on impairment have provided little understanding of the disability experienced by patients following a distal radius fracture. However, from studies describing the relationships between impairment and disability in this patient group, we know that the relationship is moderate at best. Even fewer studies have focused on the symptomatic and functional disability experience of patients. A minority of studies on distal radius fracture has incorporated longitudinal evaluations allowing them to describe how these impairments changed over time. Range of motion and grip strength scores are the most commonly reported impairments. Usually these studies were conducted to describe the outcomes of a specific treatment intervention. A large number of studies, most frequently case series, have reported the impairments in specific clinical parameters resulting from a distal radius fracture. Despite this, few studies have described the disability experience of patients with this type of injury. Distal radius fractures are common injuries that cause pain and disability.
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