USE OF SHAPING METHODS WITH FOCUS ON 1ST DORSAL INTEROSSEOUS' STRENGTHENING FOR TREATMENT OF INDIVIDUALS WITH RHIZARTHROSIS

Abstract

Rhizoarthrosis is a chronic health condition characterized by progressive degeneration of the trapeziometacarpal joint. This implies a decreased range of motion, muscle weakness, and pain in the thumb base. Thus, the loss of structure and function of the hand can interfere with the characteristics of activities and participation of these subjects. These, however, can be minimized by the 1st dorsal interosseous muscle strengthening, an important trapeziometacarpal joint dynamic stabilizer. This strengthening is not usually included in physical rehabilitation , which also do not detail the load, progression, and number of repetitions of the exercises. To reduce the impact of rhizoarthrosis on activities and the social participation of affected subjects, this study aims to investigate the effect of an intervention with a shaping method focused on the 1st dorsal interosseous' strengthening. Will be included subjects with rizoarthrosis diagnosis according to the Eat-Burton criteria. They will be evaluated before and after the treatment protocol. The pain will be evaluated through the Visual Analog Scale. The structure and body function will be assessed by the grip and pinch strength and by the Nine-Hole Peg Test. Activity and participation will be evaluated by the Australian/Canadian Hand Osteoarthritis Index (AUSCAN) and Canadian Occupational Performance Measure (COPM) questionnaires, in addition to performing some of the tasks of the Bilateral Function Test of Upper Limbs (TEBIM). Data will be verified for normality, homoscedasticity and sphericity (Shapiro-Wilk, Levene and Mauchly), and compared using the one-way ANOVA test (pd0.05).