Twelve weeks of nightly stretch does not reduce thumb web-space contractures in people with a neurological condition: a randomised controlled trial.

Question: What is the effectiveness of 12 weeks of nightly stretch in reducing thumb web-space contracture in people with neurological conditions?

Design: Assessor-blinded, randomised controlled trial.

Participants: Forty-four (one dropout)community-dwelling patients with a neurological condition (14 stroke, 7 traumatic brain injury, 23 spinal cord injury) who had uni or bilateral thumb web-space contractures (60 thumbs).

Intervention: The experimental thumbs were splinted into a stretched,abducted position each night for 12 weeks.

A torque-controlled device to measure passive abduction of the thumb carpometacarpal joint.

The primary aim of this study was to design and then test the intrarater reliability of a torque-controlled method of measuring passive abduction of the thumb carpometacarpal (CMC) joint. A secondary aim was to quantify passive CMC abduction in patients with and without contracture. Initially, clinicians used subjective feel (without range of motion measurements) to identify 52 people with loss of passive thumb CMC abduction.

Does 12 weeks of regular standing prevent loss of ankle mobility and bone mineral density in people with recent spinal cord injuries?

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of a 12-week standing program on ankle mobility and femur bone mineral density in patients with lower limb paralysis following recent spinal cord injury. An assessor-blinded within-subject randomised controlled trial was undertaken. Twenty patients with lower limb paralysis following a recent spinal cord injury were recruited.