Clinical and Economic Effectiveness of a Tele-rehabilitation Evidence-based Tablet Application for Rehabilitation in Traumatic Bone and Soft Injuries of the Hand, Wrist and Fingers.

Trauma and soft injuries of the wrist, hand and fingers have a high incidence, and large social and healthcare costs are generated, mainly due to productivity loss. Therapeutic exercises must be part of the treatment and in the last 10 years the scientific literature highlights the need for the inclusion of the sensorimotor system in both surgical and rehabilitative approaches. Current methods as leaflets or videos lacks of adherence control, evolution control and knowledge of how the patient do the exercises which compromise the expected results. Touch-screens of Tablet devices have showed a large potential to cover these needs and for the retraining of sensorimotor system. ReHand is a Tablet digital tool (Android and iOS) to prescribe and monitor exercise programs based on sensorimotor approach and developed under the guidelines of various healthcare professionals (hand surgeons, physiotherapists, rehabilitators and occupational therapists) to implement home exercise programs and monitor patients. Subjects are selected by emergency, hand surgery, rehabilitation and physiotherapy services of six hospitals from Andalusian Public Health Service through consecutive sampling. Concretely, patients over 18 years of age with trauma and soft injuries of the wrist, hand and fingers, no more than 10 days after surgery or removal of immobilization. Experimental group will receive access to ReHand app to perform a monitored home exercises program. Control group will receive the conventional method employed: a home exercise program in paper with recommendations. Clinical variables will be assessed at baseline before group allocation, 4 weeks, 3 months and 6 months. At the end of the study, cost-utility variables will be analyzed.