Manual therapy
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Methods of assessing functional impairment in arthritic hands include pain assessments and disability scoring scales which are subjective, variable over time and fail to take account of the patients' need to adapt to deformities. The aim of this study was to evaluate measures of functional strength and joint motion in the assessment of the rheumatoid (RA) and osteoarthritic (OA) hand. Ten control subjects, ten RA and ten OA patients were recruited for the study. ⋯ In the RA there were demonstrable relationships between ROM measurements and disability (R2=0.31) as well as disease duration (R2=0.37). Intra-patient measures of strength were robust whereas inter-patient comparisons showed variability. In conclusion, pinch/grip strength and ROM are clinically reproducible assessments that may more accurately reflect functional impairment associated with arthritis.