Figure-of-Eight Hand, Volumetric Measurements and Reliability in Clinic With Hand Injured Patients

Edema is the retention of fluid in the intracellular spaces, which is common in inflammatory condition such as traumatic injury and post surgical conditions. Edema in the hand and wrist can result in detrimental physiological changes which decrease the range of motion of joint and limit the overall functional capacity and dexterity of the hand. The gold standard Volumetric measurements are reliable for measuring edema changes in upper extremity. Using volumeters can be cumbersome in a busy clinic. Figure-of-eight measurements using a tape measure on the wrist and hand is an easy way to measure edema and can capture the accumulation in the dorsal hand that circumferential tape measurements do not capture. This study was performed in two parts. Part A determined the intra-rater and inter-rater reliability of the Figure-of-Eight method on healthy hands, and compared the figure-of-eight measurements to the gold standard volumetric measurements. No study other study has compared right and left hands. Part B of the study was conducted in a clinic to assess the intra-rater reliability and inter-rater reliability on both hands of patients with hand injuries.

Inclusion criteria

• Healthy-part A
• Recent history of hand or wrist injury with swelling -part B

Exclusion criteria

• Open wounds-part A
• Current swelling-part A
• History of injury in either upper extremity-part A
• Diabetes mellitus-part A
• Raynaud's Syndrome-part A
• Pregnant women-part A & B
• Could not speak English-part A & B
• Could not consent for oneself-part A & B