Comparison of positive pressure gloves on hand use in uninjured persons.

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine functional hand use in uninjured adults when wearing a standard, custom-made pressure glove (SPG) as compared with a glove with select placement of suede, The New York-Presbyterian Dexterity Glove (NYPDG) (patent pending). Thirty-four participants received a custom SPG and NYPDG in a randomized order. Gloves were worn for one day during all activities of daily living (ADL). Hand function, difficulty of fine and gross motor ADL, and participant glove preference were assessed. The process was repeated approximately 1 week later with the remaining glove incorporating a quasi-experimental, repeated measure design. Data were analyzed using a crossover design. Results were significant in favor of the NYPDG in all of the four outcome categories: time to complete the Jebsen, the Jebsen Likert scale, fine motor ADL, and gross motor ADL. In conclusion, this study demonstrated that functional tasks were faster and easier to perform when using the NYPDG.