Use of a Vibration Tool for Postoperative Pain Control in Distal Radius Fractures

Northwestern University

Status: Begins enrollment this month

Conditions: Postoperative Pain; Radius; Fracture, Lower or Distal End; Distal Radius Fracture; Radius Fracture Distal

Treatments: Device: Vibration tool

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT05318729

STU00214664

Details and patient eligibility

About

The purpose of this research study is to determine if using a vibration tool improves pain control after surgical treatment of distal radius fracture. Additionally, the investigators would like to determine if this tool has any impact on consumption of pain medications postoperatively.

Full description

Traditionally, occupational therapists have utilized vibration for sensory re-education in compression neuropathies and peripheral nerve injuries. Vibration is also commonly used for desensitization of hypersensitivity following amputation, crush injury, and for hypersensitive scarring. Since the vibration tool is readily available in the hand therapy clinic, vibration analgesia should be further explored in the hand clinic to help reduce pain. Vibration is a simple, and non-invasive, tool and would be easy, economical, and practical to implement into the hand clinic for postoperative pain control. This research project will evaluate whether vibration can be a useful adjunct to current postoperative pain modalities. With a multidisciplinary approach, the investigators hope to highlight the use of non-opioid modalities of pain control in distal radius fractures and believe that the findings from this study may apply to other painful conditions of the hand as well.

Enrollment: 100 estimated patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18+ years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Patients with a distal radius fracture who have undergone an open reduction and internal fixation using a volar FCR approach with a single volar plate
• Patients who can read, write, and follow direction in English
• Willing to undergo occupational therapy at Northwestern Medicine's Hand Surgery clinic

Exclusion criteria

• Patients undergoing oncologic surgery
• Patients who undergo simultaneous surgery such as open carpal tunnel
• Patients who only require closed reduction of distal radius fractures
• Operative patients that require dorsal plate fixation or separate radial styloid plate fixation

Trial design

Primary purpose: Treatment

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

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100 participants in 2 patient groups

Vibration tool

Experimental group

Description:

Use of the vibration tool 3 times per day for 10 minutes for each session Morning, mid-day, and evening. Volarly for 5 minutes and dorsally for 5 minutes, for a total of 10 minutes during each session:

Treatment:

Device: Vibration tool

Control

No Intervention group

Description:

Standard of care, no vibration tool.