Interventional study reveals reduced joint involvement after splinting in rheumatoid arthritis, indicating temporary immobilization safely relieves inflammation.
The more actively involved upper extremity of a patient or one of equally involved upper extremities was immobilized for three weeks with a plaster of paris splint and an arm sling. In seven consecutive patients the immobilized side showed unquestionably the least amount of active joint involvement by the end of the three week period. There were no lasting undesirable side effects such as decrease of joint range of motion or loss of muscle strength of stage I, stage II, and early stage III joints.
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Gault et al. (1969) studied this question.
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