3D motion analysis of the wrist splint effect to wrist joint movement.
Joong-Il Shin, Soo-Hee Park
PMID 28626332WHAT IT FOUND
Wearing a fitted wrist splint while opening bottle caps increased wrist angle values in young adults for each cap size tested.
This was a small laboratory test in normal wrists, not proof splints prevent injury.
Key findings
01Thirty adults in their twenties opened bottle caps with and without fitted wrist splints while wrist movement was recorded.
02Wrist angle values increased with the splint for each cap size tested.
03The authors state the sample was small and the tested wrists were normal rather than injured.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTs
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What it does not show
The study included only a small number of young adults, and the authors say the results are not easy to generalize. The wrists tested were normal rather than injured, so the findings do not show what splints do for patients with wrist or hand injuries. The outcome was a laboratory wrist angle during bottle-cap opening, not pain, function, productivity, or injury prevention. The paper does not describe whether the splint/no-splint order was randomised or whether the therapist was blinded. The authors say further studies on injured wrists and actual workplace movements are needed.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that wrist splints prevent industrial hand injuries or treat wrist injuries. The study measured only young adults with normal wrists in a laboratory bottle-cap task and reported wrist angle changes, not patient outcomes.