Milliken Hand Rehabilitation Center Hand Therapists, Macy Stonner, OTD, OTR/L, CHT & Logan Berlet, OTD, OTR/L were recently published in The Journal of Hand Surgery for their paper, “The Impact of Social Deprivation and Hand Therapy Attendance on Range of Motion After Flexor Tendon Repair.” The purpose of the paper was to examine the influence of social deprivation and hand therapy attendance on active range of motion (AROM) outcomes following flexor tendon repair.
Below is information about the Milliken research that was included in the paper. It discusses how the study was performed and the overall team conclusions.
Method
We performed a retrospective analysis of patients who underwent primary zone I–III flexor tendon repair between November 2016 and November 2020. Area deprivation index (ADI) was used to quantify social deprivation. Medical record review determined each patient’s demographic characteristics, injury details, total hand therapy visits, and final AROM outcome. Active range of motion was converted to Strickland’s percentage for analysis. Spearman correlation and simple and multivariable linear regression models were used to assess relationships between explanatory variables and outcomes.
Results
There were a total of 109 patients, with a mean ADI of 53 and mean therapy attendance of 13 visits. Higher ADI and lower therapy attendance were correlated, and each was associated with significantly decreased Strickland’s percentage. In the multivariable model, therapy attendance, ADI, zone 2 injury, and age maintained significant associations with Strickland’s percentage.
Conclusions
Socially deprived patients attend fewer therapy sessions and obtain poorer AROM after flexor tendon repair. Social deprivation is likely to contribute to poor outcomes both by its association with decreased therapy attendance and by other potential pathways that make it difficult for deprived patients to achieve good surgical outcomes.