Splinting of the hand and wrist

Splints have a variety of uses in the hand and wrist including the treatment of both soft tissue and bony injuries. They are the mainstay of treatment of many hand and wrist conditions. A sound understanding of the underlying anatomy and biomechanical principles is essential to ensure good practice. Risks associated with their use have been discussed to enable clinicians to appropriately prescribe, design and apply splints. (C) 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.