Postoperative hand therapy management of zones V and VI extensor tendon repairs of the fingers: An international inquiry of current practice

•Survey of 992 therapists from 28 IFSHT full-member countries explored current practice patterns for the postoperative management of zones V-VI extensor tendon repairs.•Early active motion (EAM) was preferred over early passive motion and immobilization.•EAM delivered by relative motion extension (RME) and palmar/IPJs free orthoses were, respectively, the most and second most used approaches.•In practice, many therapists select from multiple approaches to manage zone V and VI extensor tendon repairs.•Therapists believed TAM achieved with the RME approach was superior to all other approaches surveyed.