splint

To compare the effect of using custom-made orthosis on improving extension lag and reducing disability in acute and chronic mallet fingers. We recruited 51 patients with acute or chronic Doyle type-1 mallet fingers, who were provided with a custom-made thermoplastic anti-mallet finger orthosis to wear full-time for 6 weeks and an additional 2 weeks at nighttime. The primary outcome, extension lag, was assessed at enrollment as well as six- and twelve-week followups. Secondary outcomes included disability and satisfaction, which were evaluated using the Disability of the Arm, Shoulder, and Hand questionnaire at enrollment and 12 weeks, and a satisfaction scale at 12 weeks follow-up. Data analysis was conducted using univariate analysis of variance (ANOVA), one-way repeated measure mixed model analysis of covariance (ANCOVA), and independent sample t-test. A total of 43 participants, 25 acute and 18 chronic mallet fingers, completed the 12-week evaluation. The study found no significant difference between the two groups in terms of improvement in extension lag at either follow-up time point (P=0.21). Disability improved in both the acute and chronic groups at follow-up (P<0.05). Additionally, both groups expressed satisfaction with the treatment outcome, and no statistically significant difference was observed (t=0.173, P=0.51). We could not identify any clinically significant difference between the two groups in regard to extension lag, disability, or satisfaction at follow-up. Notably, 96% of the patients in the acute group and 88% of the patients in the chronic group demonstrated good to excellent outcomes.  Orthotic intervention with custom-made thermoplastic material in acute and chronic mallet fingers improved extension lag and disability, and both groups were satisfied with the treatment outcomes. The findings of our study indicated that patients with chronic mallet fingers benefited from orthotic interventions in the same way that patients with acute mallet fingers did. Level of evidence: II

Different countries have used different methods to reduce trauma-related mortality and its complications.

Splint is a temporary and conventional method of fixing an injured organ. Therefore, evaluating the quality of life in trauma patients with splint immobilization is important.

This prospective study was performed on 287 trauma patients with splint immobilization in two baseline periods and one month later in Haft-e-Tir and Rasoul-e-Akram hospitals. The Data collection tool was the SF-36 quality of life questionnaire. Paired t-test was used to assess the changes in the quality of life. SPSS version 21 was used for statistical analysis.

The mean quality of life in the study’s first phase was 76.31 ± 9.42, and one month after splint immobilization was 76.13 ± 8.98, and there was no significant difference between the two phases. The Splint immobilization of the patients significantly affected the quality of life in 5 out of 8 dimensions. Still, the intervention increased the scores in 3 dimensions and decreased scores in 2 dimensions. The results showed that social performance (P = 0.01), energy and vitality (P < 0.001), and emotional health (P < 0.001) increased, and physical performance (P = 0.01) and general health (P = 0.001) decreased, and they were significantly different in the two phases. There were no significant differences between emotional limitation, physical limitation, and pain in the two phases of the study.

Splint immobilization of patients improved the quality of life in 5 out of 8 dimensions. After a month, the trauma-related mental and physical shock did not disappear, and even the patients were more sensitive to quality-of-life questions due to time spent with splint immobilization and familiarity with its limitations. The patients tried to reflect on their dissatisfaction with splint immobilization.

An ingrown toenail is a painful disorder of the lateral nail fold associated with inflammation, infection, and granuloma formation. Various conservative modalities have been described to reduce the pressure of an ingrown nail on its gutter. The invasive option is preferred for severe ingrown nails (grade III). Here an innovative, less invasive technique is described to treat severe grades of ingrown nails with the use of mosquito artery forceps and cyanoacrylate glue. The glue on curing becomes a hard cast that blunts and insulates the nail from its gutter, protecting the gutter from nail injury. The glue is hygroscopic and antiinfective, making the gutter dry, healthy, and maceration-free. The ingrown nail becomes asymptomatic within half an hour of splinting, and the granuloma heals within 3 to 6 weeks. Thus chemical splinting with cyanoacrylate glue is a novel and fast conservative technique for treating severe grades of ingrown toenails in outpatient care units.

Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is the most prevalent form of peripheral neuropathy. There are various treatments for carpal tunnel.

In this study, we evaluated the effect of electroacupuncture and exercise on pinch and grip strength and wrist range of motion in patients with mild to moderate CTS.

Sixty patients with carpal tunnel syndrome were evaluated in this study, only five of whom were male. In this study, patients were divided into three groups. The control group consisted of 20 patients who only used splints in the second group, in addition to splints, special exercises were administered, and the third group, electroacupuncture, and brace were prescribed for 12 sessions of 40- minute duration. study time was 6 weeks. The parameters of pinch force, grip force, ROM (flexion and extension) were evaluated at baseline and after the treatment.

In this study, 55 women and 5 men with an average age of 49.23 ± 8.96 were enrolled. At the final follow up, significant improvements in all parameters were found in third groups (P < 0.05), except flexion of the wrist in the control group (P = 0.098). Our findings indicate that exercise therapy had more effect on ROM of flexion than acupuncture and acupuncture had more effect on pinching than exercise therapy but the effect sizes were weak. Also, the efficacy of splint alone was less than intervention groups in all parameters.

Results of this study demonstrated that adding exercise or acupuncture to nocturnal splinting, the functional improvement is more in patients with mild to moderate carpal tunnel syndrome and these interventions could be adopted in the management of these patients.

Soft tissue injuries (STIs) of lower extremities are considered as a very common complaint in those patients that were admitted to the emergency department. One of the main purposes in these patients' treatment strategies is early returning to work and regular activities. This study purpose was to compare the results of two lower limb (leg) splinting

standard-sized short leg splinting, and also half-sized short leg splinting.

In this randomized controlled clinical trial research, we enrolled those patients with STI of the lower limb and without bone fracture. The setting was Haftom Tir trauma center and all patients signed the written consent before the study starting. We categorized participants into two groups: standard-sized short leg splint and halfsized short leg splint. The data were entered into SPSS 18 software and also were analyzed using that.

300 patients were included in this study totally. The splinting complications were similar in two groups, but the splint fracture and skin burn frequency were significantly lower in half-sized short leg splint (P.V<0.005). The mean score of pain and swelling frequency had no significant differences in both groups (P>0.005).

The results indicated that the performance of standardsized and half-sized short leg splinting was similar in lower limbs STIs. The difficulties were less in half-sized short leg splint. Therefore, this study recommend that emergency physicians could consider half-sized short leg splinting in STIs, but the recommendation may be considered as valuable when this study results reassess in other clinical trials with multicenter researches and more sample size.

The efficacy of acupuncture and exercise therapy in the treatment of carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) has been investigated in limited studies with controversial results. The purpose of this study was to compare the short-term efficacy of acupuncture and exercise therapy in patients with mild to moderate CTS.

This study was a randomized controlled clinical trial study conducted on 60 patients (55 women) with mild to moderate CTS referring to Imam Hossein Hospital in Tehran in 2017. The patients were randomly divided in to 3 equal groups; groupa1: only night splint was used for 6 weeks (control), group2: splint with tendon and nerve gliding exercises (2 times a day for 6 weeks) were applied, group3: splint and electroacupuncture was performed for 12 sessions (2 sessions/week). The score on the Boston Carpal Tunnel Questionnaire (BCTQ) for Functional Status and Symptom Severity (BCTQ FUNCT and SYMPT) and visual analog scale (VAS) score were evaluated at baseline and after the treatment.

At the final follow up, significant improvements in all parameters of quality of life and VAS were found in third groups (p<0.05). Acupuncture affected the score on the BCTQ FUNCT and SYMPT, the VAS score more than exercise therapy. In addition, the efficacy of splint alone was less than intervention groups in all parameters.

Acupuncture with splint has a high effect on reducing pain and improving the quality of life in patients with mild to moderate CTS and could be adopted in the management of these patients.

The goal of this study was to compare the two types of orthoses, prefabricated soft splints versus short thermoplastic custom-made splints, that are the most commonly used for the management of first carpometacarpal (CMC) osteoarthritis (OA). We conducted a meta-analysis and systematic review in the literature based on the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. We extracted the outcomes of disability scores, pain scores, grip and pinch strength and gathered the unified data accordingly. We included five randomized clinical trials with 230 patients with the mean age of 61 years and the mean follow-up of 8.1 weeks. The results of the pooled data demonstrated only a statistically significant difference in disability scores among splints in favor of the prefabricated splints. The rest of the outcome measures consisting of pain, grip strength, and pinch strength were not statistically different. According to our systematic review and meta-analysis, both thumb-based splints improved pain and function in the first CMC OA in a short-term follow-up, nevertheless the efficacy of prefabricated splints in abatement of disability scores was significantly higher than custom-made splints. In contrast, the other outcome measures including pain, grip and pinch strength were improved identically after wearing either of the splints. Level of evidence: II

This study was to evaluate the effect of hamate and scaphoid bone mobilization alongside splinting in women with carpal tunnel syndrome.
In this randomized clinical trial, 40 participants were randomly assigned into 2 groups. The intervention group received splinting with scaphoid and hamate mobilization, while the control group received splinting only. Outcome variables were pain (based on visual analogue scale), symptom severity and functional status (based on Boston questionnaire), and nerve conduction study measured before and 10 weeks after the treatments.
At the end of study, both groups showed an improvement in pain and symptom severity, functional status as well as median nerve conduction study. Although there was no statistically significant difference between groups regarding changes in median nerve sensory and motor distal latencies; the improvement was significantly higher in pain and symptom severity as well as functional status in mobilization group (P-Value Hamate and scaphoid mobilization can be used as an effective option in women with mild to moderate carpal tunnel syndrome. Further investigation is required for determining long-term effects and cost-effectiveness of mobilization in carpal tunnel syndrome.

Splinting is the most common conservative method of treating patients with mild and moderate Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS). The aim of this study was to determine the effectiveness of the limited dynamic wrist splint on the symptoms, function, and strength of women with CTS. In this controlled trial study, the subjects wore a splint of a new design called the “limited dynamic wrist splint”, which allowed the wrist motion in the range (between 15-degree flexion and 15-degree extension) that exerts minimum pressure on the median nerve and prevents extra pressure on the nerve by limiting the range of motions out of the allowed range.
In this study, 24 women diagnosed with mild to moderate CTS were initially evaluated on the basis of the Boston questionnaire, the dexterity test of the Purdue pegboard, grip and pinch strength, distal sensory latency, and sensory nerve conduction velocity. The subjects were randomly divided into two groups, control and treatment. Both groups received routine rehabilitation treatment for six weeks. The treatment group received the limited dynamic wrist splint for about six to eight hours a day. After six weeks, the initial examinations were repeated. The SPSS-16, independent t, and paired t-tests were used for data analysis.
All the variables in the treatment and the control groups showed improvement. The function test of the Boston questionnaire, the Purdue pegboard test, and the pinch strength were significantly improved in the treatment group. The “severity of the symptoms” test of the Boston questionnaire and the pinch strength in the control group showed a statistically significant difference (P This study showed that the use of the limited dynamic wrist splint for about six weeks for six to eight hours a day could have a significant effect on the function, dexterity, and the pinch strength of patients with CTS. Not only can the patients receive treatment by this method, but they can also perform their daily activities to some extent.

The Study aimed to compare the effectiveness of two commonly used conservative treatments, splinting and local steroid injection in improving clinical and nerve conduction findings of the patients with severe carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS).

In this randomized control clinical trial, the patients with severe CTS selected and randomized in two interventional groups. Group A was prescribed to use full time neutral wrist splint and group B was injected with 40 mg Depo‑Medrol and prescribed to use the full time neutral wrist splint for 12 weeks. Clinical and nerve conduction findings of the patients was evaluated at baseline, 4 and 12 weeks after interventions.

Twenty‑two and 21 patients were allocated in group A and B, respectively. Mean of clinical symptoms and functional status scores, nerve conduction variables and patients’ satisfaction score were not significant between group at baseline and 4 and 12 weeks after intervention. Within the group comparison, there was significant improvement in the patients’ satisfaction, clinical and nerve conduction items between the baseline level and 4 weeks after intervention and between the baseline and 12 weeks after intervention (P < 0.01). The difference was significant for functional status score between 4 and 12 weeks after intervention in group B (P = 0.02).

considering some findings regarding the superior effect of splinting plus local steroid injection on functional status scale and median nerve distal motor latency, it seems that using combination therapy could be more effective for long‑term period specially in the field of functional improvement of CTS.

This study was designed to determine the effects of Volar-Dorsal Wrist/Hand Immobilization Splint on upper extremity motor components and function of stroke patients. fourteen patients were participated in this study. The patients were selected based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria, and were given the splint after a primary evaluation. They were re-evaluated after one, two and three months. In order to assess spasticity, the range of motion, and upper extremity function, the Modified Ashworth Scale (MAS), the goniometry, and fugl-meyer assessment were used respectively. The splints were used 2 hours during the day and the whole night in three months. The amount of the upper extremity function changes (P (v) =0.07) was not significant: and the amount of the ranges of the motion changes (P (v) =0.02) were statistically significant. The changes in range of motion of other joints and spasticity were not significant (P (v)>.05). The results of the present study indicated that, volar-dorsal wrist/hand immobilization splints can improve the AROM of metha-carpophalengeal joints. Although spasticity, the range of motion of other joints, and the upper extremity function went through some changes due to splinting (3month),these changes were not significant, which requires further research.

Making a conservative bridge using a natural tooth pontic with mobile teeth is complicated, time-consuming and sometimes impossible with the current techniques and materials. The aim of this paper is` to describe a new method using Special Rigid Tray Technique (SRTT) to deal with such difficult clinical cases.