The Effect of Rehabilitation Intervention on Pain, Strength, Range of Motion, Hand Function and Quality of Life Patients with Upper Extremity Fracture - A Systematic Review

BACKGROUND The rehabilitation intervention for upper extremity fracture varies from shoulder to finger, obtained from physical modalities and exercise. Physical modality and exercise rehabilitation intervention effectively reduce pain, increase range of motion (ROM), hand function and improve quality of life. This systematic review aims to synthesize current scientific knowledge on rehabilitative interventions with a specific focus on upper extremity fractures and the effect of all interventions on the patient. METHODS Three scholarly databases (PubMed, Google Scholar, Science Direct) were systematically searched. Literature published before 10 January 2022 focused on upper extremity fracture and rehabilitation treatment patients. Quality assessment was completed with CEBM tools by Oxford University. For PICO, The Population was upper extremity fractures, and the intervention was rehabilitation intervention, both physical modality and exercise. The comparation was other rehabilitation interventions or without rehabilitation, and the outcome in this study were measured with the visual analogue scale (VAS), ROM, hand function, and quality of life (QoL). RESULTS Eight studies were included in this review among 18.326 reference titles founded and screened. All of the studies had various sample sizes followed by bias analysis with CEBM tools. Rehabilitation for elbow fracture was dynamic fixation using rigid tape and proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation stretching. Rehabilitation for distal radius fracture was scapular exercise, graded motor imagery, hot pack on hand volume, illusory kinesthesia, and wrist exercise. These interventions can reduce the pain, improve strength, range of motion, hand function and quality of life in upper extremity fracture patients. CONCLUSIONS Exercise and physical modality rehabilitation intervention have proven to reduce pain, improve strength, range of motion, hand function and quality of life in upper extremity fracture patients.