Leprosy is a highly incapacitating infectious disease. In the absence of specialized treatment, it disables, alters sensitivity and weakens hands’ muscles. The main objective was to investigate the effectiveness of an exercise protocol had on muscle strength performance. A therapeutic intervention study was conducted, and it was classified as open, self-control and involving leprosy patients coming from a reference specialized place (URE - Unidade de Referência Especializada) Dr. Marcelo Cândia, Marituba - Pará. 56 patients with hands’ nerves damage disability were evaluated, of which 36 were male and 20 female, aged from 19 to 60 years, of poor education, mostly unemployed, which 17 completed the minimum of 10 exercises sessions. The clinical characteristics present in the majority of patients were: operating clinical multibacillary form, frequent complaint about hand’s muscle weakness - which held polychemotherapy and presented greater impairment on the ulnar nerve. The patients had their palmar grip and a variety of pinches’ strength measured on Jamar® and Preston PinchGauge® dynamometers before and after the exercise protocol intervention. A specific protocol was applied through the use of therapeutic resources that offer varying strength results. At the end of these interventions, the tested strength on those 17 patients was significantly different (p < 0,05) among all categories on both hands, before and after the exercise intervention. The conclusion is that the patients who have hands muscle strength deficit caused by peripheral nerve damage, subject to exercise protocol, obtained beneficial results for muscle strength performance component enabling significant autonomy, independence and quality of life improvements.
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