The effects of intrinsic hand muscles training after digital flexor tendon repair: a clinical study / 中华物理医学与康复杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To observe the effects of training on intrinsic hand muscles after digital flexor tendonrepair. Methods A total of 60 patients with digital flexor tendon repair were randomly assigned into an experimentgroup (n = 30) and a control group (n = 30). Patients in the experiment group received intrinsic hand muscles train-ing, in addition to the passive mobilization of the flexor tendons and active mobilization of the extensor tendons admin-istered to those in the control group. Minnesota manual dexterity test and Purdue pegboard test were adopted to as-sessment the outcome after 3 months of training. Results After 3 months of training, there were significant differ-ences between the two groups in terms of the results of Minnesota manual dexterity test and Purdue pegboard test( P < 0.01 ). Conclusion Intrinsic hand muscles training after digital flexor tendon repair can improve fine move-ment and coordination of hand.