STUDY DESIGN: Randomized controlled trial (RCT). INTRODUCTION: Engagement in daily occupations and day to day activities helps to restore function in individuals with injured hands and provides a platform to practise selected occupations. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of a combination of occupation based intervention (OBI) and therapeutic exercise (TE) compared to TE alone for the rehabilitation of hand injuries. METHOD: A single center RCT, parallel group was conducted at the Kuala Lumpur General Hospital (KLGH), Malaysia. Forty-six adult clients with hand injuries who consented to participate were randomly allocated to either the OBI+TE group or to the TE group. RESULTS: Following a ten week intervention program, statistical significance differences were found in DASH score (TE 18.64 +/- 14.84 versus OBI+TE 9.50 +/- 9.14, p = 0.02); total active motion (TE 1035.85 +/- 179.84 versus OBI+TE 1203.65 +/- 133.60, p = 0.01); neuropathic pain (TE 2.90 +/- 2.79 versus OBI+TE 1.05 +/- 2.01, p = 0.02); COPM performance (TE 7.62 +/- 2.03 versus OBI+TE 9.53 +/- 0.64, p < 0.001); and COPM satisfaction (TE 7.60 +/- 2.11 versus OBI+TE 9.49 +/- 0.76, p < 0.001) in favor of OBI+TE group. CONCLUSION: This study highlighted the integration of OBI into hand injury rehabilitation improved outcomes for clients. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: 1b.

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