Evaluation of functional health in patient undergoing rehabilitation after upper extremity injuries

Purpose: There is no doubt in terms of the need to assess the results of rehabilitation inpatients after upper extremity injuries and to evaluate them over time. However, the evaluation of functional health remains a challenge if the variety of injury patterns and functional outcomes are taken into account. There is a long tradition in trauma surgery in assessing structures and basic functions. Nevertheless, additional instruments are needed for evaluation of activity, participation and contextual factors of functioning and health. Outcome measures: The most widely used functional scoring systems were characterised and compared assessment. Additionally, some instruments for measuring functioning and health on the levels of activity and participation were characterised in terms of practicability, psychometric properties and the applicability in rehabilitation assessment in patients after upper extremity injuries. Example: The careful choice of primary outcomes and measures can influence the results of experimental studies and the implementation of interventions under investigation in the clinical practice. An example shows the importance of the measurement properties, first of all the responsiveness, of the instrument used for the interpretation of the results of an hypothetical study and their consequences for the clinical practice. Conclusions: There is barely possible to implement a fixed,core set" of instruments for evaluation of functional health in patients undergoing rehabilitation after upper extremity injuries. Nevertheless, a checklist of criteria for a right choice were suggested taking into account the kind of injury, the characteristics of the sample, the time frame for measurement and follow-ups, the concepts and intensity of rehabilitation as well as psychometric properties of the assessment instruments themselves. The later should not be taken as an abstract issue but used as a guideline for planing, performing and discussing experimental studies in surgery and rehabilitation.