Manual passive rehabilitation program for geriatric distal radius fractures

Abstract

Limitation of wrist range of motion (ROM) is a common complication of distal radius fractures (DRFs) in geriatric patients. The present study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of rehabilitation in the restoration of wrist ROM after geriatric DRF. Eighty-eight geriatric patients with DRF, 59 women and 29 men aged 71.69±6.232 years participated in the study. The time from wrist immobilization to rehabilitation was 12.89±5.318 weeks. Daily rehabilitation was performed 30minutes a day for 8 weeks. Active wrist ROM was measured before and at 2, 4, and 8 weeks after rehabilitation. Data were analyzed by the repeated measures multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA), one-way MANOVA, and analysis of variance (ANOVA). Repeated measures MANOVA suggested a significant time effect for ROM (Wilks Lambda=0.002, F=7500.795, P 3 months). The results of this study suggest an 8-week daily rehabilitation program for geriatric patients with limited ROM <3 months after DRF.