Does Restriction of the Dominant Hand Due to Injury Improve Non-Dominant Hand Function?

Hand injuries result in the restriction of use of the injured hand within a splint or a plaster during the first 6 weeks which is critical for tissue healing. When the dominant hand is injured, patients experience more difficulty in daily life due to this restriction. Patients injured on their dominant hand mostly express that they are forced to use their non-dominant hand in their activities and as a result, the function of the non-dominant hand improves. However, the non-dominant hand function has not been analyzed in patients with restricted use of the dominant hand during the tissue healing period.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Tendon Injuries; Nerve Injury; Fractures; Dexterity
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: Restriction of the Dominant Hand Due to Splint Use

• Study Type: Observational
• Enrollment (Actual): 40

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Turkey (Türkiye)
  • Yenimahalle
    • Ankara, Yenimahalle, Turkey (Türkiye)
      • Gazi University Health Science Faculty Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation Department

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Adult; Older Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

• Sampling Method: Probability Sample

Study Population

Patients referred to the Hand Rehabilitation Unit of Gazi University, Faculty of Health Sciences, for physiotherapy and rehabilitation due to hand-related pathologies, and who meet the inclusion and exclusion criteria will be included.

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Individuals who need to use a splint for 6 weeks due to any pathology in their dominant hand
• Ages between 18-65
• Individuals who are within the first 10 days after the operation

Exclusion Criteria:

• Individuals with an isolated thumb injury
• Those who require bilateral use of the splint/have bilateral pathology
• Those who have a condition that prevents the use of the non-dominant hand
• Those who can use both hands equally/do not have a dominant side (ambidextrous/two-handed)
• Those who have a cooperative status that will not comply with the treatment program
• Data from individuals who do not use the splint as described during the 6-week follow-up period will not be included in the analysis.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Number of groups / cohorts

1

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort

Intervention / Treatment

patient with orthosis/cast; Patients referred to the Hand Rehabilitation Unit of Gazi University, Faculty of Health Sciences, for physiotherapy and rehabilitation due to hand-related pathologies, and who meet the inclusion and exclusion criteria, will be informed about the study. No treatment other than routine care will be administered. Only two evaluations will be conducted: one at the first session and the other at the end of the 6th week.

Other: Restriction of the Dominant Hand Due to Splint Use; This study aimed to assess whether the non-dominant hand function changes in patients using splints or casts on their dominant hand during the tissue healing period.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
hand function	Hand function will be assessed using the Jebsen Taylor Hand Function Test (JTHFT), a valid tool for evaluating impairment and disability. The test includes tasks involving common grip types in daily life, aiming to measure the speed of task performance. Standardized materials, easily available in clinics, are used. The test has seven tasks: writing a 24-letter text, turning cards, collecting small objects, eating, stacking checkers, collecting light wide objects, and collecting heavy wide objects. A 1-minute rest is given between tasks, and completion time is recorded in seconds. Before evaluation, examples will be provided, and individuals will perform a trial run of each task. In our study, only the unaffected, non-dominant hand will be assessed, starting with a single real assessment after the trial.	6 weeks

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
disability level	Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand (DASH) Questionnaire will be measured. This questionnaire is used to assess upper extremity disorders and includes 30 items covering pain, stiffness, weakness, daily activities, and functionality. Patients consider their condition over the past week, with total scores ranging from 0 to 100. Higher scores indicate worse functional status.	6 weeks
Grip and pinch strengths	Gross grip strength will be measured with a hydraulic hand dynamometer (Jamar®) and fine grip strength with a pinchmeter. Participants will sit in a chair with back support, following the standard position: arm at the side, elbow at 90° flexion, and wrist neutral. Fine grip strength will be assessed in double (bipod) pinch, triple (tripod) pinch, and lateral grip positions. The forearm will be fully pronated for double and triple pinches, and midpronated for gross grip and lateral grips. Only the healthy non-dominant hand will be assessed. Measurements will be repeated three times, and participants will squeeze as hard as possible. The average of the three trials will be recorded in kilograms.	6 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Gazi University

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): April 6, 2024
• Primary Completion (Actual): March 1, 2026
• Study Completion (Actual): March 1, 2026

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: January 13, 2025
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: January 14, 2025
• First Posted (Actual): January 20, 2025

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): March 4, 2026
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: March 2, 2026
• Last Verified: March 1, 2024

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Wounds and Injuries; Fractures, Bone; Tendon Injuries
• Other Study ID Numbers: 2024-390

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: UNDECIDED

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No