Introduction

The hand is one of the most complex anatomical structures in the human body and is capable of performing very sophisticated functions. It has the ability to execute complex tasks involving various combinations of different skills and abilities involving grip, movement, Sensory feedback and motor coordination [Buhman et al. 2000; Dianat et al. 2012]. To produce a required motion, the joints in the hand and wrist work together. This gives the fine motion needed to perform daily activities such as tying a shoe lace or threading a needle. When the joints are in pain, activities of daily activities can be difficult.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic inflammatory disease that affects approximately 0.5-1% of the general population worldwide [Veronesi, 2003; Quan, 2011]. Pain, stiffness, swollen joints, fatigue and later joint deformities are common symptoms. RA can affect any joint of a human body, however the small joints in the hands and feet tend to be most affected [Combe, 2007]. Patients with RA have physical impairments compared with a healthy person because their affected joints become painful, stiff and deformed. The symptoms of RA would diminish the patients’ capabilities to perform daily activities such as grooming, brushing teeth, opening a door, turning a key or holding a cup [Steultjens et al. 2002, 2004; Merritt, 2012]. However, the impacts of RA on each patient is variable. In some patients, symptoms of RA will appear and last for a few days and then withdraw, but in some cases the symptoms are active most of the time, last for many years and lead to serious joint damage and disability. Despite the improvement in medication for the treatment of RA, the disease has a major impact on a patient’s ability to carry out their daily activities, work and leisure [Zan-Bar et al. 2004]. This disease has an impact on patient’s ability to work, with one-third of patients’ work capacity restricted within 1 year and within 3 years about 40% will be registered as work disabled [Jantti et al. 1999; Combe, 2007].

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Interventions that are currently used by medical professionals to help reduce arthritic pain and maintain independent performance of activity of daily living (ADL) and actively participate in workforce include increasing grip strength, reducing pain, creating adaptive behaviours or learning to use adaptive equipment [Ye et al. 2011]. Generally, initial treatment is nonsurgical and could include anti-inflammatory medication and steroid injection, hand therapy and hand or wrist orthoses. If these do not relieve the pain and do not improve overall function, surgical intervention may be suggested [Merritt, 2012].

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One treatment recommended by occupational therapist is wearing of a therapy glove/s [Corcoran et al. 2010]. Broadly there are different types of gloves available on the market with use for different purposes and would fall under a broad umbrella of ‘therapy gloves’. Some of them are designed to provide warmth (i.e. ‘thermal gloves’), some to provide extra support (glove splints), some to provide compression and some to provide both warmth and compression. A glove is defined as a garment covering a hand with separate sections for each finger and thumb. It is designed for people who suffer from various hand conditions and aims to relieve pain and improve hand function in arthritis, as well as to manage hypertrophic scarring after a severe burn, and lymphedema [Dewey et al. 2007].

The use of therapy gloves is widely practiced by occupational therapists as rehabilitative treatment for patients with RA [Oosterveld and Rasker, 1990; Kavuncu and Evcik, 2004; Weiß, 2013], where it is demonstrated that wearing therapy gloves has a positive impact on patients’ hand functioning [Ehrlich and Dipiero, 1971; Askari et al. 1974; Culic et al. 1979; Swezey et al. 1979; Dixon et al. 1986; Oosterveld and Rasker, 1990; McKnight and Kwoh, 1992; Barbarioli, 2001]. However, to date, limited research exists that quantifies the effectiveness of these gloves. There is no considerable body of research that addresses glove performance attributes, as well as materials that substantially influence their performance. In addition, there are no structured literature reviews investigating the effect of therapy gloves on patients’ hand function and hand symptoms. Considering the prevalence of hand RA and limited evidence on the effectiveness of therapy gloves as rehabilitative treatments, the aim of this paper is to review the available research on the effects of using therapy gloves in general and also on the possible improvement in grip strength, pinch strength, range of motion (ROM), dexterity, finger swelling, hand pain and joint stiffness as a result of wearing these gloves.

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