Effect of Task-Specific Hand Dexterity Circuit Training as an Adjunct to Conventional Physiotherapy on Pain and Functional Disability in Individuals with Rheumatoid Arthritis: A Quasi-Experimental Study

Background: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic autoimmune inflammatory disorder predominantly affecting small joints of the hands, leading to pain, deformity, and functional disability. Conventional physiotherapy focuses primarily on pain relief and strengthening; however, structured task-specific dexterity training targeting functional hand activities remains underexplored. Objective: To evaluate the effect of task-specific hand dexterity circuit training as an adjunct to conventional physiotherapy on pain and functional disability in individuals with rheumatoid arthritis. Methods: A quasi-experimental comparative study was conducted over 12 months in a tertiary care teaching hospital. One hundred participants diagnosed with RA (ACR/EULAR 2010 criteria) were recruited through convenience sampling and allocated into experimental (n=50) and control (n=50) groups. Both groups received supervised physiotherapy sessions (40 minutes/day, 5 days/week) for four weeks. The control group received conventional physiotherapy, while the experimental group received 15 minutes of conventional therapy followed by 25 minutes of task-specific hand dexterity circuit training. Pain intensity was assessed using the Numeric Pain Rating Scale (NPRS) and functional disability using the Health Assessment Questionnaire Disability Index (HAQ-DI). Paired and independent t-tests were used for statistical analysis (p