Shoulder-Stabilization Exercises Enhance Functional Recovery After Hand Surgery .
Effect of Adding Shoulder Stabilization Exercises to the Rehabilitation of Postoperative Hand Injuries in Young Adult Patients.
Hand (N Y) . 2025 Jul;20(5):778-784.Forty patients with postoperative hand/wrist injuries were randomized to receive standard hand rehabilitation plus a shoulder-stabilization program (n=20) or standard hand rehabilitation alone (n=20). The primary outcome of interest was hand grip strength. Secondary outcomes included opposition and abduction range of motion and the Arabic modified QuickDASH. Outcomes were assessed at baseline and after 6 weeks. Overall, the results of the study revealed significant improvements in both groups over time, with consistently greater gains in the shoulder-exercise group across all reported outcomes (between-group effects and time×group interactions statistically significant). These findings suggest that incorporating scapular/shoulder stabilizer training meaningfully augments short-term functional recovery after hand surgery.
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