There is very little evidence regarding the
use of upper limb orthoses and much of
the clinical practice used today is based
on individual, professional experience. A
literature review conducted by Tyson and
Kent (2011) on the use of upper limb
orthoses stated that there was wide
consensus that orthotic intervention is
useful for upper limb management
following stroke, but treatment varied
widely between health settings. The
authors were only able to identify four
studies within their inclusion criteria and
therefore concluded that upper limb
orthotic management has no effect on
upper limb function. However, the results
of these studies (none of which were
significant) should be interpreted with
caution as only results which were
significant are deemed suitable to make
any recommendation. A further study by
Barry et al (2012) compared the use of a
dynamic orthosis with manual
intervention, but concluded that there
was no significant difference and in the
following year, and a pilot study
examining the effects of long-term use of
static wrist-hand orthoses (WHOs)
concluded that the use of WHOs arelimited due to compliance (Andringa et
al, 2013).