Health-related physical fitness in patients with complaints of hand, wrist, forearm and elbow: an exploratory study

OBJECTIVES: Little is known about the physical fitness of patients with complaints of hand, wrist, forearm and/or elbow and its possible determinants. Aims were to assess health-related physical fitness (HRPF) in these patients, to compare HRPF with reference values of healthy persons, and to explore whether HRPF was correlated with symptom severity, upper limb function (ULF) and physical activity (PA). METHODS: Cardiorespiratory fitness, handgrip strength and body composition, self-reported symptom severity, ULF and PA were assessed in adult outpatients with complaints of hand, wrist, forearm and/or elbow diagnosed as CANS. RESULTS: Measurements were completed in 25 subjects (8 males) aged 46.1±14.5 years, of which 44% had specific CANS and 56% had non-specific CANS. Peak oxygen consumption (VO(2)peak) of men was 2978±983 mL/min and of women was 1978±265 mL/min. Handgrip strength of men was 47.0±11.1 kgf and of women was 32.4±6.3 kgf. Body mass index (BMI) of men was 24.2±2.6 kg/m(2) and of women was 27.4±6.1 kg/m(2). VO(2)peak of the study sample was lower than that of healthy adults (−414±510 mL/min, p<0.001). Handgrip strength and BMI were similar to reference values. VO(2)peak was correlated with PA (r=0.58, p=0.004); BMI was correlated with disability (r=0.48, p=0.022). Other correlations between HRPF and symptom severity and ULF were non-significant. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with CANS have lower cardiorespiratory fitness, but similar handgrip strength and body composition, compared with the healthy population. Cardiorespiratory fitness was correlated with PA and BMI was correlated with disability, no other correlations were observed with symptom severity and ULF.