Comparative clinical and radiographic outcomes between early and delayed wrist mobilization after volar fixed-angle plate fixation of distal radius fracture

Postoperative immobilization protocols after volar fixed-angle plate fixation of distal radius fractures (DRF) vary among surgeons. This study aimed to compare functional outcomes, radiographic parameters, and complications between early and delayed mobilization after volar fixed-angle plate fixation of DRF. This study is a randomized controlled trial. The early group was allowed to perform wrist motion exercise immediately after surgery and the delayed group was allowed to perform it after 2 weeks of external immobilization. Postoperative patient-rated wrist evaluation (PRWE), disabilities of arm, shoulder, and hand (DASH), wrist range of motion, visual analog scale (VAS) pain score, and grip strength were evaluated. Forty-eight patients with DRF were enrolled and randomly allocated to the early or delayed mobilization groups. The PRWE, DASH, VAS pain score, grip strength, and wrist motion of both groups significantly improved over time. However, there were no significant differences between groups at any timepoint. Radiographic parameters were not different between groups. There were no significant differences in functional outcomes, radiographic parameters, and complications between early and delayed mobilization after volar fixed-angle plate of DRF. Immediate postoperative wrist range-of-motion exercise can be safely initiated after volar fixed-angle plate fixation of DRF without external immobilization. Clinical trial registration: Thaiclinicaltrials.org identifier: TCTR20180927005. Registered 27/09/2018—retrospectively registered. https://www.thaiclinicaltrials.org/show/TCTR20180927005.