Core stabilisation reduces compensatory movement patterns in patients with injury to the arm: a randomized controlled trial

Objective: To investigate the effects of adding core stabilisation exercises to traditional rehabilitation in patients with arm injuries. Design: Randomized controlled trial. Setting: Outpatient clinic. Subjects: Twenty-seven patients with elbow and wrist injuries were randomized to a stabilisation or control group. Interventions: The stabilisation group received core stabilisation training and traditional arm rehabilitation and the control group received traditional arm rehabilitation alone for three days/week for six weeks. Main measures: Pre- and post-treatment assessments comprising an analysis of compensatory movement patterns and trunk muscle strength as well as functional measurements of the arm, including pain, range of motion, disabilities of arm, shoulder and hand questionnaire and endurance and fatigue severity were performed. Results: Inter-group comparison revealed significantly greater improvements in the degree of mean change (SD) in total compensation (in degrees) of the head (-14.47 (21.65)) and trunk (-5.56 (5.71)) as well as total compensation (-50.02 (48.62)) for the stabilisation group than for the control group (p < 0.05). Increase in trunk muscle strength (2.43 (3.46)) was statistically significant in the stabilisation group compared with the control group. No significant differences were found for functional measures, including pain, range of motion, disabilities of arm, shoulder and hand or endurance and fatigue severity between the groups, although trends towards greater improvement were observed in the stabilisation group. Conclusions: Adding core stabilisation exercises to traditional arm rehabilitation for patients with traumatic arm injury reduces compensatory movement patterns. Trends towards better functional outcomes in the stabilisation group are worth testing in a large-scale trial.