Use of a Vibration Tool for Postoperative Pain Control in Distal Radius Fractures

Traditionally, occupational therapists have utilized vibration for sensory re-education in compression neuropathies and peripheral nerve injuries. Vibration is also commonly used for desensitization of hypersensitivity following amputation, crush injury, and for hypersensitive scarring. Since the vibration tool is readily available in the hand therapy clinic, vibration analgesia should be further explored in the hand clinic to help reduce pain. Vibration is a simple, and non-invasive, tool and would be easy, economical, and practical to implement into the hand clinic for postoperative pain control. This research project will evaluate whether vibration can be a useful adjunct to current postoperative pain modalities. With a multidisciplinary approach, the investigators hope to highlight the use of non-opioid modalities of pain control in distal radius fractures and believe that the findings from this study may apply to other painful conditions of the hand as well.

Inclusion criteria

• Patients with a distal radius fracture who have undergone an open reduction and internal fixation using a volar FCR approach with a single volar plate
• Patients who can read, write, and follow direction in English
• Willing to undergo occupational therapy at Northwestern Medicine's Hand Surgery clinic

Exclusion criteria

• Patients undergoing oncologic surgery
• Patients who undergo simultaneous surgery such as open carpal tunnel
• Patients who only require closed reduction of distal radius fractures
• Operative patients that require dorsal plate fixation or separate radial styloid plate fixation