Psychosocial factors are key determinants of health after upper extremity injuries. A systematic review addressed psychosocial factors most consistently associated with activity intolerance and how the language, conceptualization, and types of measures used to assess activity intolerance impact these associations in upper extremity injuries. Our systematic review found that greater activity intolerance after upper extremity injury was most consistently associated with symptoms of depression and anxiety, greater catastrophic thinking, less pain self-efficacy, and greater pain interference (1). Social and demographic factors were also associated with activity intolerance. Measures of objective impairment such as motion and injury severity were least associated with activity intolerance. 

References

1. Jayakumar P, Overbeek CL, Lamb S, Williams M, Funes C, Gwilym S, Ring D, Vranceanu AM. What Factors Are Associated With Disability After Upper Extremity Injuries? A Systematic Review. Clin Orthop Relat Res. 2018 Sep 4. doi: 10.1097/CORR.0000000000000427. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 30188344.