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Abstract

Clinical observation has shown that despite complying with text book regimes of exercises and splinting the outcome for some patients with partial thickness burns is extension contracture of the Fifth Metacarpophalangeal Joint (5th MCP joint).

This observation led to a review of the architecture and biomechanics of the hand in order to consider what could improve hand function following recovery of a thermal injury.

This paper reviews the architecture and biomechanics of the burnt hand and suggests that in the short term, the 5th MCP joint plays a central role in returning the hand to maximum function.

With this in mind a modified form of treatment has been adopted focusing attention on the 5th MCP joint and related structures.

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The Role of the Fifth Metacarpophalangeal Joint in the Recovery of the Burnt Hand - is it Great or Small?

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