Highlights
- •Measurement of functional dart thrower's motion is clinically feasible.
- •Lower functional dart thrower's motion was noted on affected wrists in postoperative and nonoperative patients.
ABSTRACT
Study Design
Cross-sectional and descriptive study
Background
Functional dart thrower's motion (F-DTM) is an obliquely oriented wrist motion that
occurs in activities such as throwing and drinking from a cup. There is limited data
on clinical measurement of F-DTM.
Purpose of the Study
The purpose of this study was to 1) describe and establish reference scores for F-DTM
measurement for nonoperative and postoperative wrist patients 2) compare F-DTM between
the affected and nonaffected sides and 3) determine F-DTM score agreement across three
consecutive trials.
Methods
Two certified hand therapists evaluated F-DTM in consecutive adult patients with a
unilateral wrist condition undergoing nonoperative or postoperative therapy. Three
trials of goniometer measurements for radial extension (RE) and ulnar flexion (UF)
were assessed on the nonaffected and affected wrists. A total arc F-DTM was computed.
Mean, 95% confidence intervals (CI), and Cohen's d effect size described side-to-side
differences in RE, UF, and total arc F-DTM. Agreement in scores across trials was
assessed with an intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC).
Results
Thirty-one nonoperative (mean ± SD age = 40.0 ± 13.9 years, 74% female, 94% right
hand dominant) and 44 postoperative patients (mean ± SD age = 44.9 ± 14.9 years, 66%
female, 84% right hand dominant) were enrolled. The average side-to-side difference,
in degrees, in the nonoperative group was -6.4 (95% CI: -9.4 to -3.4, Cohen's d = 0.8)
for RE, -10.4 (-16.7 to -4.0, d = 0.6) for UF, and -16.8 (-24.3 to -9.2, d = 0.8)
for total arc F-DTM. The average side-to-side difference in the postoperative group
was -33.6 (-38.8 to -28.3, d = 1.9) for RE, -34.7 (-40.6 to -28.7, d = 1.8) for UF,
and -68.2 (-77.9 to -58.5, d = 2.1) for total arc F-DTM. The range of ICCs for F-DTM
measurements was 0.82-0.96.
Conclusions
Goniometer measurement of F-DTM is a clinically feasible method to quantify functional
motion loss in an injured wrist population, particularly patients with postoperatively
managed wrist conditions.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: March 12, 2023
Accepted:
October 24,
2022
Received in revised form:
October 23,
2022
Received:
December 14,
2021
Publication stage
In Press Corrected ProofFootnotes
Conflict of Interest: None.
Identification
Copyright
© 2022 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
