Specialty: Musculoskeletal disorders, Primary sub-specialty: Other
Conditions
Interventions
Participants will be randomised using sealed envelopes to receive either:
1. Treatment as usual: compression (glove, wrap or digital sleeve) with elevation and massage
Sponsors
University of East Anglia
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
All
Inclusion criteria
Inclusion criteria: 1. Over 18 years old 2. Male or female 3. Referred to hand therapy post trauma or surgery 4. Hand oedema confirmed by a hand therapist as requiring hand therapy intervention 5. Reads and understands English language 6. Willing to take part and has full understanding of the randomization and allocation to treatment process 7. Able to give full informed consent
Exclusion criteria
Exclusion criteria: 1. Patients more than 6-weeks after their injury and/or surgery whose oedema is not classified as sub-acute 2. Patients who are within the specified sub-acute timeframe but have already commenced oedema management treatments 3. Patients with diagnosed lymphedema, acute infections, deep vein thrombosis, blood clot or haematoma, active cancer, chronic heart failure, cardiac problems or renal dysfunction/failure/kidney disease, pulmonary problems or any other factor (physical or mental health) that may affect the patient’s ability to adequately and safely monitor the use of tapes or gloves 4. Patients in the first 4 weeks of tendon repairs where removal of their splints in order to apply a glove would be contraindicated 5. Patients who do not have someone available to assist in the reapplication of kinesiology tape every 5-5 days, and who do not feel confident to reapply the tape themselves 6. Fragile skin (elderly and long-term steroid use) and open wounds 7. Patients with excessive amount of hair on their hand/forearms who would find the tape too uncomfortable to be removed every 3-5 days and who may find the pull on the hairs from the tape an unacceptable side effect of using this method (Often patients will shave the section where the tape is being applied if this is deemed necessary and acceptable to the patient)
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame |
|---|---|
| 1. Hand volume in millilitres, assessed using the Volumeter at baseline, 4 and 12 weeks 2. Severity of hand oedema, assessed using Oedema Rating Scale at baseline, 4 and 12 weeks | — |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame |
|---|---|
| 1. Function, assessed using the Patient Evaluation Measure (patient rated outcome measure) at baseline, 4 and 12 weeks 2. Quality of life, assessed using EQ-5D-5L at baseline, 4 and 12 weeks 3. Patient adherence, assessed using patient diary at 12 weeks 4. Patient acceptability, assessed using purpose designed questionnaire with a 0-10 scale at 12 weeks | — |
Countries
United Kingdom
Outcome results
None listed