Influence of hand movement on skin deformation: A therapeutic glove design perspective.

The fit of a therapeutic glove directly influences the hand function of the wearer as well as wear comfort. Static and dynamic hand dimensions and characteristics must be considered when designing a glove, as significant changes in hand shape, size, and skin surface morphology result from hand movements. The aim of this study is to investigate the skin relaxed-strain ratio at the dorsal side of the hand and its relationship to skin deformation behaviour during hand movements. The point cloud raw data of the right hands of 13 female participants (40-65 years, size M) were recorded using a 3D INFOOT scanner in three different hand postures. Twenty-two measurements of skin relaxed-strain ratios in each posture were calculated, and differences between them were identified using the Kruskal-Wallis H test. The results demonstrate that different hand postures cause substantial changes in hand geometry, especially in the metacarpal region. The findings of this study are valuable for the construction of functional tight-fitting therapeutic gloves with optimal fit, performance, and comfort.

Therapy gloves for patients with rheumatoid arthritis: a review.

Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic inflammatory disease that causes pain, joint stiffness and swelling leading to impaired hand function and difficulty with daily activities. Wearing therapy gloves has been recommended by occupational therapists as one of the alternative treatment methods for rheumatoid arthritis. This study aims to review the available literature on the effects of wearing therapy gloves on patients' hand function and symptoms as well as to discuss the attributes of gloves that might influence the glove performance. An electronic databases search of MEDLINE, Physiotherapy Evidence Database, Occupational Therapy Systematic Evaluation of Evidence, Wiley Online Library, ScienceDirect and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trial was performed. Eight articles met the inclusion criteria, and covered seven clinical trials and one case study. Seven outcome measures were identified from the included studies and were then classified into two categories: hand function and hand symptoms. The hand symptoms such as pain, stiffness and swelling improve substantially when the therapy gloves are used. However, marginal or no improvement in hand function (with the exception of grip strength) linked to the use of therapy gloves is being reported. Further research is needed to quantify the effectiveness of therapy gloves, especially in improvement of hand function and in patients' interest in wearing therapy gloves. Furthermore, future studies should include parameters which might influence therapy gloves' performance, such as duration of trials, interface pressure generated by the gloves on the underlying skin and tissue, glove fit and construction, as well as thermophysiological comfort.