QUESTION: Does an advice and exercise program improve outcome for adults following distal radius fracture? DESIGN: Randomised trial with concealed allocation, assessor blinding, and intention-to-treat analysis. PARTICIPANTS: Fifty-six patients whose fracture had been managed with pins and/or cast. INTERVENTION: The experimental group received a physiotherapist-directed program of advice and exercises. The control group did not receive any physiotherapy intervention. OUTCOME MEASURES: The primary outcome was wrist extension (measured with a goniometer). Secondary outcomes were the other wrist ranges of motion (measured with a goniometer), grip strength (measured with a dynamometer), pain, and activity limitations (measured with questionnaires). These outcomes were measured initially, then three and six weeks later. Participants also rated their satisfaction with physiotherapy intervention at week 6. RESULTS: No difference was found between groups for the primary outcome of wrist extension (mean difference 6 deg, 95% CI -3 to 14), nor for the secondary outcomes of other range of motion data and grip strength. The difference between groups for pain was -16 points out of 100 (95% CI -27 to -5) at week 3, and -14 points (95% CI -25 to -3) points at week 6, and for activity was -13 points out of 100 (95% CI -24 to -2) at week 3; in favour of the experimental group. The experimental group was also more satisfied with the amount of physiotherapy intervention. CONCLUSION: An advice and exercise program provided some additional benefits over no intervention for adults following distal radius fracture. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ACTRN012607000204448.

Full text (sometimes free) may be available at these link(s):      help

• DOI
• PubMed
• PDF locator
• publisher