Compliance with wearing an abduction brace after arthroscopic rotator cuff repair: A prospective, sensor-controlled study

Abstract

Background: Immobilization, using a shoulder abduction brace, may be important after rotator cuff repair to achieve successful tendon-to-bone healing. Compliance with wear time is a concern.

Objectives: Therefore, the abduction brace wearing time was assessed with temperature-sensitive sensors to objectively measure the abduction brace wearing compliance rate.

Study design: Level of evidence I, prospective observational study.

Methods: A temperature sensor was implanted into 54 standard shoulder abduction braces, worn by 50 patients (27 women; mean age, 56 years). At 6 weeks post-surgery, patients reported the number of hours they had worn the brace. The patient-reported and sensor data were compared, and the compliance rate (relative to the recommended wearing time) was determined, with compliance being the primary end-point and the discrepancy between the measured and patient-reported wear time being the secondary end-point.

Results: Compliance was ⩾80% in 24 (48%) patients. Sensor-based compliance was lower than self-reported compliance (75% versus 96%, p ⩽ 0.001). Compliance was not predicted by age, sex, smoking, educational, employment, living status, or handedness.

Conclusions: Roughly 50% of patients did not wear the brace at least 80% of the recommended time. Self-reported compliance is significantly lower than sensor-based compliance. Compliance was not predicted by measured demographic variables.

Clinical relevance: This is the first study in which the abduction brace adherence of patients after rotator cuff repair was assessed by the use of a temperature-sensitive sensor. The postoperative use of these braces is questionable as the patient's abduction brace adherence is low. The self-reported wearing compliance is unreliable.

Keywords: Upper limb orthotics; orthotics; rehabilitation; rehabilitation of orthoses users.