Findings of 96 patients having Colles' fracture were analyzed to determine whether recovery was hastened when physiotherapy was supervised by a physiotherapist. Nearly all of the patients were women, and 67 (70%) were less than 40 years of age. By random sample the patients were divided into two groups. The mobilization of one of the groups was headed by a physician with written and oral instructions, and of the other correspondingly by a physiotherapist. The group headed by the physiotherapist came to the hospital an average of hour times for additional instruction. This additional training was primarily intended to insure that the training movements were correctly performed. The following determinations were made in each patient in the 5th, 8th and 12th week after the injury: radial and ulnar deviation, dorsal and volar flexion, pronation and supination of the forearm, as well as volume of the extremity and the pumping and grip power of the hand. Each patient's subjective attitude at each examination was also noted. These measurements were compared by computers with those of a healthy extremity. The grip strength and pumping ability of the hand gave a valuable indication of the extremity's ability to function. No statistically significant differences were found between the two groups regarding subjective well-being and time lapse between injury and return to work.

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