Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38753460›Full record

ArticleDisability and rehabilitation2025

The feasibility, acceptability, safety, and effects of early weight bearing in humeral fractures - a scoping review.

Jia Hui Gan, Lindsay Bearne, Samuel Walters, Jon Room, Greg Booth, Alex Trompeter, Dimitra Nikoletou

Abstract readScoping Review
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Disability and rehabilitation, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
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0citing papers in PubMed
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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

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Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors.

Jia Hui GanHaslemere Community Hospital, Royal Surrey NHS Foundation Trust, Surrey, UK.
Lindsay BearnePopulation Health Research Institute, St George's University of London, London, UK.
Samuel WaltersDepartment of Trauma and Orthopaedic Surgery, St George's University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK.
Jon RoomFaculty of Health and Life Sciences, Oxford Brookes University, Oxford, UK.
Greg BoothPopulation Health Research Institute, St George's University of London, London, UK.
Alex TrompeterInstitute of Medical and Biomedical Education, St George's University of London, London, UK.
Dimitra NikoletouInstitute of Medical and Biomedical Education, St George's University of London, London, UK.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposeNon-weight bearing is often recommended after humeral fractures. This review aims to summarise the extent and nature of the evidence for the feasibility, acceptability, safety, and effects of early weight bearing (EWB) in people with humeral fractures, treated operatively or non-operatively. .

methodsData sources identified published (PUBMED, EMBASE, CINAHL) and unpublished (ClinicalTrials.gov, CENTRAL, NIHR Open Research, OpenGrey) literature. Independent data extraction was conducted by two reviewers.

results13 901 records were retrieved. Ten studies, involving 515 post-operative patients and 351 healthcare professionals, were included. EWB was found to be feasible in nine studies. There was limited evidence regarding adherence to EWB. Trauma and orthopaedic surgeons reported that EWB was acceptable. This depended on surgery type and whether it was a post-operative polytrauma case. No acceptability data was reported from patients' perspectives. Only one study reported two patients who developed unsatisfactory outcomes from excessive post-operative EWB. Positive effects of EWB were reported on disability level, pain, shoulder and elbow motion, and union.

conclusionThere is some evidence for the feasibility, safety, and effectiveness of post-operative EWB after humeral fractures. There was limited data on the acceptability of EWB. Heterogeneous study designs, and variations in EWB protocols limit conclusions.

Indexed as

Humeral FracturesWeight-BearingFeasibility StudiesHumansearly weight bearinghumeral fracturesimmediate weight bearingrehabilitationScoping review

Identifiers

PMID38753460
PMCPMC11789713

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