• Negihan Çakır, Ramazan Hakan Özcan, Ali Kitiş, and Nihal Büker.
• Physical Therapy Unit, Bornova Türkan Özilhan State Hospital, İzmir, Turkey.
• Ulus Travma Acil Cer. 2014 Mar 1; 20 (2): 120-6.

BackgroundForearm and hand injuries are the main cause of work-related disability. This study was planned to investigate the relationship between severity of injury, time of return to work, impairment, and activity participation of patients with hand and forearm injuries.MethodsOne hundred and thirty patients who had patients who had had forearm or hand injuries with a mean age of 31±11.13 years participated in this study. Injury severity was evaluated using Modified Hand and Forearm Injury Severity Scoring (MHISS) after surgery. Patients were evaluated using the Jebsen Hand Function Test (JHFT) and Buck-Gramko scoring eight weeks after injury. Additionally, grip strength was evaluated with a dynamometer, and disability/symptom score was evaluated using the Turkish version of the Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder, and Hand (DASH-T) questionnaire twelve weeks after injury.ResultsA significant relationship between MHISS, hand strength, time of return to work, DASH-T, and Buck-Gramko scores of patients with forearm and hand injuries was identified (p≤0.05). Higher impairment was significantly related to body structure and body functions (1.86±1.47), and the most limited activity was writing (2.06±1.50) regarding ICF framework.ConclusionHigher MHISS scores were associated with delays in returning to work and lower activity participation. The DASH-T score was the most strongly associated with time of return to work. Furthermore, there is a positive relation between time of return to work and activity participation of patients.

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