A randomized controlled trial of forty-five females over 18 years of age with diagnosis
of thumb basal osteoarthritis in their dominant hand and with a minimum pain rating of 4/10 on
the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) during activities of daily living (ADLs) were recruited from March
to June 2021. The group receiving proprioception training was compared to routine conservative
physiotherapy treatment. The main purpose of this clinical trial is to test the effect of proprioception
training on pain intensity in subjects with thumb osteoarthritis. Primary outcome was joint position
sense (JPS) for the assessment of CMC proprioception and secondary outcomes were Visual Analogue
Scale (VAS) and Canadian Occupational Performance Measure (COPM) for the assessment of patient
satisfaction and the Quick-DASH which assessed upper limb function. A block randomization was
carried out for the control group (n = 22) and experimental group (n = 23). Participants and evaluator
were blinded to the group assignment. Proprioception training produced a statistically significant
reduction in pain post intervention, but this reduction was small (d = 0.1) at the 3-month follow-up.
JPS accuracy demonstrated statistically significant differences between the groups (p = 0.001) postintervention and at the 3-month follow-up (p < 0.003). Statistically significant differences between
means were found in both the Quick-Dash and COPM post intervention (both, p < 0.001), as well as
at the 3-month follow-up (both, p < 0.001). There was a significant time factor for the reduction of
pain intensity over time but effect sizes between groups was small at the 3-month follow-up period.
Proprioceptive training improves thumb JPS accuracy; however, it does not contribute to a reduction
in pain intensity in the long term. The inclusion of a proprioceptive program may be beneficial for
improving individuals with thumb CMC OA sensorimotor performance.
