Tendon Injuries

This study aims to investigate the effects of Kinesio Taping (KT) on hand function in patients with Zone V-VI Extensor Digitorum Communis (EDC) tendon injuries following primary repair. Extensor tendon injuries in this region often lead to complications such as adhesion formation, reduced range of motion, extensor lag, and impaired hand function, despite standard rehabilitation approaches. Therefore, additional interventions that may enhance tendon gliding and neuromuscular control are of clinical interest. In this double-blind randomized controlled trial, patients will be assigned to either a KT group or a sham taping control group. Both groups will receive a standardized postoperative rehabilitation program, while the intervention group will additionally receive KT applications between postoperative weeks 6 and 12. Outcome measures, including range of motion, grip and pinch strength, and functional hand performance, will be assessed at 12 and 24 weeks. The study seeks to determine whether KT provides additional benefits beyond conventional rehabilitation in improving functional recovery after extensor tendon injuries, addressing an important gap in the current literature.

This study investigates whether early changes observed during the first weeks of hand and upper extremity rehabilitation can predict patient outcomes months later. In rehabilitation practice, clinicians make numerous decisions each session regarding exercise type, frequency, duration, and treatment approach. Most of these decisions are currently made without systematic longitudinal data. This study addresses three fundamental questions using data collected during routine clinical care: (1) Can the rate of improvement in the first weeks of treatment predict functional status months later, across both session-based and milestone-based time points? (2) Are there meaningfully different recovery profiles among hand rehabilitation patients? (3) Is there measurable variation in clinical decision-making among patients with similar profiles, and does this variation relate to outcomes? A digital patient monitoring platform developed by the principal investigator, a physiotherapist and academic researcher specializing in hand rehabilitation serves as the data collection infrastructure. The platform records standard clinical assessment measures in a structured format and has been in active clinical use at Hacettepe University prior to this study. For research purposes, the system has been expanded to include structured capture of patient-reported outcomes, patient global impression of change, treatment protocol coding, home exercise adherence, and automated calculation of early response metrics. This is a 12-month prospective observational cohort study enrolling a minimum of 60 patients. Data are stored securely on the university's institutional network. Patients are anonymized using identification codes. The study is subject to Hacettepe University Ethics Committee approval and participant informed consent. Findings are expected to generate evidence supporting data-driven clinical decision-making in rehabilitation and to provide a feasibility foundation for a larger multi-center study.

Considering the thumb's contribution to fine dexterity and precision grip, this study aims to evaluate fine manual dexterity alongside functional outcomes following isolated thumb tendon injuries, and to examine the relationship between postoperative functional improvement and changes in fine manual dexterity.

Patients with surgery of a peroneal tendon injury in Gothenburg, Sweden, will be randomized to one of two different postoperative protocols. Before and after surgery the patients will perform biomechanical evaluation and also fill out questionnaires including PROMs. All evaluations will be performed on both limbs.

Aim of the study is to evaluate the effects of a 4-week occupation-based exercise program given in addition to the conventional rehabilitation program on hand functions, range of motion, grip strength, pain and kinesiophobia in the post-operative rehabilitation of patients aged 18-65 years with zone 2 flexor tendon repair. Expected results: To prove the effectiveness of occupation-based exercises in order to reduce the failure rates seen in the rehabilitation of zone 2 flexor tendon injuries, to increase patient compliance and motivation during the rehabilitation process, to improve functional outcomes by ensuring its inclusion in conventional treatment and to increase patient satisfaction.

Midportion Achilles tendinopathy (MAT) is a common overuse injury of the lower extremity characterized by the presence of pain, restricted function and interruption of sport activities. Conservative management of MAT has been suggested as the first line of treatment. Actually, there are several exercise programs with beneficial effects on pain and function among which high load training stands out. However, this training modality is inherently difficult to implement in certain populations and pathological conditions due to their inability to tolerate this mechanical stress. In this sense, low load training with blood flow restriction (BFR-LLT) emerges as an effective option in producing hypertrophic adaptations with low intensities (30% 1RM). However, this training modality has not yet been studied in tendon pathology. The aim of this study is to evaluate the potential clinical effects of BFR-LLT in comparison with HLT in patients with chronic MAT.