For people with inflammatory arthritis affecting the wrist, using a wrist splint can reduce pain and improve strength, Canadian researchers have shown.

Previous reports suggested that wrist splints may improve symptoms but at the risk of reducing dexterity and the performance of some functional tasks, the authors explain in the medical journal Arthritis & Rheumatism.

Barbara Porter from Vancouver Coastal Health Authority in British Columbia and colleagues compared several types of wrist splints - a custom-made leather device, an off-the-shelf model, and an elastic wrist support - in a study of 45 patients with inflammatory arthritis in their wrists.

The participants used each type of splint for an average of 29 hours per week, the authors report, with all but two participants using them for a minimum of 10 hours per week.

All the splints significantly reduced pain, the team found. The leather model proved more effective than the elastic support in reducing pain, but other comparisons were not significantly different.

Rather than decreasing dexterity, the splints were associated with improvements in an aggregate dexterity score, in the ability to pour water, and other measures of hand function, the researchers note. Differences between the splint types were minimal.

Patients ranked the leather splint as the best, and this was the most expensive; the cheapest - the elastic support - ranked lowest, but all splints were favored over not wearing a splint.

Improvements in hand function and pain were maintained at the 6-month follow-up point, the report indicates.

SOURCE: Arthritis & Rheumatism, October 15, 2004.