Effects of Extracorporeal Shock Wave Therapy After Flexor Tendon Injury

Visual Analog Scale

For VAS assessment, patients are informed about the meaning of the numbers placed on a 10 cm line from 0 to 10. It is explained that no pain is worth 0 points, moderate pain is worth 5 points, and the most severe pain felt is worth 10 points. Based on these explanations, the patient is asked to mark the pain on the 10 cm line. The distance between the marked point and the starting point is measured with a ruler to determine the pain intensity.

Range of Motion

Range of motion (ROM) is one of the most frequently used outcome variables after tendon injuries in the hand. ROM measurement in the hand is performed using a finger goniometer. In active ROM assessment for the fingers, the patient is asked to make a fist for flexion and extend the finger straight; that is, the measurement is performed in a compound manner. In this study, the Modified Strickland calculation will be used for fingers 2-5. Active distal interphalangeal (DIF) and proximal interphalangeal (PIF) joint flexion are added together, and the active extension loss is subtracted. 175° is considered ideal and compared to 175°. The results are; 75°-100° is considered excellent, 50°-74° good, 25°-49° average, and 0°-24° poor.

Nine-hole peg test

Due to its low cost, ease of application, and speed, it is widely used in assessing dexterity. It consists of a square wooden board with nine holes and nine wooden pegs designed to fit these holes. During the test, the container with the square board and pegs is placed on the side of the extremity being evaluated. Then, the patient is asked to take the pegs one by one and place them in the holes. The order of placement is not important. As soon as the placement is complete, the pegs are removed one by one and returned to the container. The order of removal is not important. The process is timed. The timer starts when the hand first touches a peg at the beginning of placement and ends when the last peg is removed and touches the container.

Duruoz Hand Index

The Duruoz Hand Index was first developed in 1996 to assess hand-related activity limitations in patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis. It consists of 18 self-assessed items regarding hand abilities in the kitchen, dressing, personal hygiene, work, and other general movements. Scores range from 0-40 for kitchen tasks, 0-10 for dressing, hygiene, and office tasks, and 0-20 for the "other" category. Individuals rate their abilities on a scale of 0 (no difficulty) to 5 (impossible to perform). The questionnaire results in a total score of 0-90. A higher score represents a greater activity limitation and greater difficulty. The validity and reliability of the Turkish version of the questionnaire have been demonstrated in patients with traumatic hand injuries.

Short Form-36 Questionnaire

The Short Form-36 (SF-36) questionnaire is a 36-item scale consisting of subscales of physical function, physical role, emotional role, pain, vitality, general health, and mental health. Each subscale is scored from "0" to "100", indicating the lowest and highest quality of life levels, respectively.