Assessment of Pain Severity and Grip Strength as the Most Accurate Predictors of the Outcome of Treatment of Distal Radial Fractures

Distal radial fractures are common injuries, accounting for approximately 25% of fractures in the paediatric population and up to 18% of all fractures in the elderly age group. Assessment of treatment outcomes of these fractures includes objective measurements of wrist joint range of motion and grip strength as well as subjective parameters such as the intensity of perceived pain, hand function and quality of life. The recent years have ushered in a trend towards using several outcome measures for a more comprehensive evaluation of the results of the treatment. The objective of this study was to investigate whether the assessment of pain severity and grip strength is sufficiently accurate for correct assessment of the outcome of the treatment of distal radial fractures.