Well-arm Exercise in Distal Radius Fractures

Well-arm Exercise in Distal Radius Fractures

A single center randomized control study. Patients >18 years with isolated distal radius fractures treated non-operatively will be randomly assigned to either the treatment group (exercise of contralateral "well" arm) or control group (standard fracture care and rehabilitation).

Distal radius fractures are common injuries, especially in the aging population. Fracture healing requires immobilization of the injury, which inevitably leads to muscle atrophy and joint stiffness. This strength lost during immobilization can be problematic in patients who are already de-conditioned at baseline. Previous research using healthy participants found that exercising a non-immobilized, "well", arm helped attenuate muscle atrophy in the contralateral immobilized arm. The study aims to answer the following questions: Does exercise of the contralateral arm prevent muscle atrophy and weakness of the injured arm? Does exercise of the contralateral arm improve pain scores in the injured arm

Inclusion Criteria:

• Adults >18 years with an isolated distal radius fracture treated non-operatively

Exclusion Criteria:

• Operative treatment, additional injures, previous injury to same arm, neuropathy or neuromuscular disease, dementia