Pronation Strength after Volar Plating- Does the PQ ever recover?
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Pronation Strength after Volar Plating: Does the Pronator Quadratus ever recover?
IRAS ID
236544
Contact name
Tim Drew
Contact email
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 4 months, 16 days
Research summary
The dorsal angulated extra articular distal radial fracture, a fracture of the bone just above the wrist, is one of the most common injuries seen by orthopaedic surgeons worldwide. However, there is an ongoing debate regarding the best treatment option.
No study has recorded post injury pronation (the process of rotating the forearm in order for the palm of the hand to face backwards or downwards) power during different elbow angles. We think that patients who have had volar plating will be left with less pronation power compared to similar patients who have not had volar plate fixation. The reasoning being that the pronator quadratus is the predominant pronation muscle of the forearm. It is detached from the forearm bone during surgery. The other muscle that pronates the wrist is the pronator teres, its power diminishes as the elbow joint angle decreases. It is not detached during volar plating surgery however. The loss of pronation power will be increasingly evident with decreasing degrees in elbow angle. The aim of this study is to investigate if the loss of pronation power is significantly different in those treated with volar plate fixation from those treated with more conservative measures, casting and Kirschner-wiring.REC name
East of Scotland Research Ethics Service REC 2
REC reference
18/ES/0004
Date of REC Opinion
29 Jan 2018
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion