The Presence and Impact of Stress Reactions on Disability among Patients with Arm Injury

This study explores the prevalence and types of stress reactions and their impact on self-perceived disability among arm–hand-injured patients. It tested the null hypothesis that there is no correlation between stress reactions after traumatic hand injury and arm-specific disability. In a prospective cohort of 24 patients, stress reactions were measured using the Impact of Events Scale-Revised (IES-R), and arm-specific disability was measured using the QuickDASH, an average of 7.5 months (range: 1.5–33 months) after injury. Type of injury, length of time since injury, and gender did not influence scores on the IES-R or the QuickDASH. The IES-R subscales of intrusion and hyperarousal correlated with QuickDASH scores (intrusion: r = 0.57, p = 0.004; hyperarousal: r = 0.45, p = 0.029). These findings suggest that the patient may require attention to learn how to engage in the therapy process while experiencing stress reactions.