Association between perceived and objective hand-wrist function in distal radius fracture.

The relationship between patient-reported outcome measures and objective measures is important for understanding patient expectations. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship of each section of the Michigan Hand Outcomes Questionnaire (MHQ) to objective measurements in patients with distal radius fracture (DRF). Eighty-four patients who were treated operatively or non-operatively for DRF were included. Injury severity was assessed by the Modified Hand Injury Severity Score. Joint motion was assessed at 6 and 12 weeks and grip strength at 12 weeks after non-operative treatment or surgery. The MHQ was used to assess hand functionality. The relationships between measurements were analyzed by Spearman correlation analysis. Statistical significance was set at p < 0.05. Fifty-one patients (60.7%) were women and 33 (39.3%) men. Mean age was 48.17 ± 12.26 (range, 20-64) years. Fifty-two (61.9%) patients were treated surgically and 32 (38.1%) non-operatively. Forearm pronation-supination and wrist flexion and ulnar deviation at week 6 and forearm pronation-supination, wrist extension and radial deviation at week 12 correlated with MHQ scores, unlike wrist extension and radial deviation at week 6 and flexion and ulnar deviation at week 12. Gross and fine grip strength at week 12 correlated with MHQ, except for the overall hand function, work performance and pain subsections. The MHQ subsections correlated with joint motion and grip strength in the early period after DRF. These findings clarified patient expectations in the early period.

Validity, reliability and test-retest study of Grip strength measurement in two positions with two dynamometers: Jamar® Plus and K-Force® Grip.

Our objective was to compare grip strength measurement in two body positions (sitting and standing) with the K-Force® Grip dynamometer and the Jamar® Plus Digital hand dynamometer, and to conduct a test-retest study of the K-Force Grip device. The study was conducted on 50 healthy young adults aged 18-25 years. Maximal grip strength was tested in sitting and standing positions with both devices. After 2 days, a re-test was conducted with the K-Force Grip. The correlation coefficient was high for grip strength measurements in sitting and standing positions with the K-Force Grip and Jamar Plus dynamometers (r > 0.9 for all). K-Force Grip values were similar in sitting and standing positions (p > 0.05). Despite this similarity, K-Force Grip measured significantly lower values than Jamar Plus (p < 0.05). Thus, the K-Force Grip device can be used as an alternative to the Jamar Plus dynamometer, regarded as the gold standard in evaluating grip strength. We believe that the same devices should be used in clinical studies, research, and patient follow-up.

Evaluation of the validity and reliability of the KFORCE Sens® electrogoniometer in evaluation of wrist proprioception.

The aim of this study was to determine the validity and reliability of the KFORCE Sens® electrogoniometer in the evaluation of wrist proprioception. Wrist position sense was assessed on a Baseline® 360° universal goniometer and a KFORCE Sens® device. The validity and reliability of the KFORCE Sens® device for wrist position sense evaluation were investigated by comparing the two data sets. Fifty-three healthy volunteers (39 female, 14 male) with a mean age of 22.83 ± 1.28 years (range, 21-27 years) were included. Joint position sense test-retest reliability (intra-class correlation coefficient) on KFORCE Sens® was "very good" for all wrist movements. There was a very strong correlation between flexion-extension movements on the dominant side (r = 0.955), and a strong correlation between ulnar-radial deviation movements (r = 0.745). There was also a very strong (r = 0.863) correlation between flexion-extension movements on the non-dominant side and a strong correlation (r = 0.690) between ulnar-radial deviation movements (p < 0.05). Our results showed that the KFORCE Sens® device was a valid and reliable evaluation means of assessing wrist position sense.