Weak For Recommendation
Upper and lower limb splinting may be provided to prevent joint contracture in people with SCI who are at risk of contracture.
| Upper and lower limb splinting versus no intervention on prevention of contractures in people with SCI who are at risk of contracture | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | People with SCI who are at risk of contracture | Evidence recommendation No evidence recommendation Reason: No RCTs | Weak opinion statement FOR Upper and lower limb splinting may be provided to prevent joint contracture in people with SCI who are at risk of contracture. Clinical note: Splinting can cause serious pressure injuries, particularly in those with spasticity, and/or impaired or absent sensation, so should only be administered by physiotherapists with experience in splinting and with careful ongoing monitoring. |
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| I | Upper and lower limb splinting | ||||||
| C | No intervention | Consensus-based opinion statement Weak for (100%) |
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| O | Contracture | ||||||
The Australian and NZ SCI Physiotherapy guideline committee recommends upper and lower limb splinting to prevent joint contracture in people with SCI who are at risk of contracture. This is a consensus-based opinion statement supported by the opinions of the experts. There are no randomized controlled trials on this topic. The guideline states:
Upper and lower limb splinting may be provided to prevent joint contracture in people with SCI who are at risk of contracture.
This statement was formed by considering the opinions of the experts alongside other factors. The other factors that were considered were benefits and harms, values and preferences, resource use, equity, accessibility, and feasibility. This is a consensus-based opinion statement. Consensus-based opinion statements are less robust than evidence-based recommendations. They can be strong or weak. This is a weak consensus-based opinion statement which means that the guideline panel is confident they can probably recommend upper and lower limb splinting to prevent joint contracture in people with SCI who are at risk of contracture based on opinion.
To learn more about this recommendation go to the research summary.