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Hand Function in Osteoarthritis

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Hand Function

Abstract

Almost half of the population has osteoarthritis of the hand (OAH). Fortunately, more than half are asymptomatic. Unfortunately, almost half have symptoms, more commonly in women than in men. The most common symptoms relate to disfigurement of the digits. Less commonly, there is pain and digital deformity limits function, with or without pain. Symptoms may be constant but also may be cyclic and irregular. There is also a spectrum of OAH from hypertrophic (nodal) to destructive (erosive) disease, the latter having more often and more severe symptoms. It is only in the last few decades that validated instruments have been developed to measure the impact of OAH. The Australian/Canadian Osteoarthritis hand index and the functional index for hand osteoarthritis have been validated in several languages. These instruments define the severity of hand osteoarthritis and have been sensitive to change in well-conducted clinical trials. These instruments perform as well as or better than simple nonspecific pain scales and supplement quality-of-life scales. These instruments are invaluable as new therapies are developed that treat the symptoms of OAH or to potentially alter the progression of OAH.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Medicine/Rheumatology, UCLA, Rehabilitation Building, 1000 Veteran Avenue, Los Angeles, CA, 91390, USA

    Roy D. Altman M.D.

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  1. Roy D. Altman M.D.
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Correspondence to Roy D. Altman M.D. .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Marmara University Medical School, Istanbul, Istanbul, Turkey

    Mehmet Tuncay Duruöz

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Altman, R.D. (2014). Hand Function in Osteoarthritis. In: Duruöz, M. (eds) Hand Function. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-9449-2_5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-9449-2_5

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

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  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4614-9449-2

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