Which is better for DeQuervain’s: Splinting or Injection?

Rapid Review 

Cavaleri, R., Schabrun, S. M., Te, M., & Chipchase, L. S. (2016). Hand therapy versus corticosteroid injections in de Quervain’s disease treatment: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of hand therapy: official journal of the American Society of Hand Therapists29(1), 3–11. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jht.2015.10.004

The Skinny: DeQuervain’s Tenosynovitis is a stenosing tenosynovial inflammation affecting the abductor pollicis longus and the extensor pollicis brevis in the 1st dorsal compartment. The treatment varies from conservative the surgical, and this review focuses on conservative treatment.

DeQuervain's

The authors performed a systematic review to compare the effectiveness of steroid injections with 1.) hand therapy splinting alone, 2.) hand therapy splinting with steroid injections, and 3.) steroid alone in treating DeQuervain’s.  

In the Weeds: A total of 6 articles were included in the review, which included 334 patients. The mean age of patients was between 27 and 44 years. Three studies compared steroid injections with splinting, and three compared splinting with injections alone. No studies were included that looked at other forms of therapy such as physical agent modalities, exercise, and manual therapy. The time the splint was worn was not specified in the studies. 

Bringing It Home: Both groups, including the corticosteroid injection and splinting group, improved overall function and decreased pain. More patients were treated successfully when combined splinting and steroid injection were used together.  

Rating: 4/5 The study’s limitations include the lack of specification on the type of splint used and the specific regime. The outcomes measures did not look at the quality of life; instead, they focused on treatment success rate and pain relief. Research into different treatment regimes is needed to make sound recommendations for splinting duration.

1 Comment

  1. Armand Ali on August 15, 2022 at 1:21 pm

    Great way of spreading many studies into a short outcome.

Leave a Comment






More To Read

Dorsal Wrist Pain?

August 16, 2020

Incorporating Emerging Evidence into Clinical Practice for Patients Experiencing Dorsal Wrist Pain During Weight-Bearing Activities By: Brittany Day Supporting Evidence A randomized control study recently published in the Journal of Hand Therapy found rigid carpal stabilizing taping (CST) to significantly increase passive range of motion, active range of motion, and decrease pain in patients experiencing…

Read More

THE SENSITIVITY AND SPECIFICITY OF ULTRASOUND FOR THE DIAGNOSIS OF CARPAL TUNNEL SYNDROME: A META-ANALYSIS

July 21, 2019

Fowler, J. R., Gaughan J. P., & Ilyas, A.M. (2011).  The sensitivity and specificity of ultrasound for the diagnosis of carpal tunnel syndrome: A meta-analysis.  Clinical Orthopedics and Related Research, 469(4), 1089-1094. The Skinny –The authors sought out to determine the sensitivity and specificity of ultrasound therapy for the diagnosis of carpal tunnel syndrome using…

Read More

New Distal Bicep Tendinopathy Provocative Test for Hand Therapist

January 8, 2022

Caekebeke, P., Schenkels, E., Bell, S. N., & van Riet, R. (2021). Distal biceps provocation test. The Journal of Hand Surgery. The Skinny: These surgeons were looking for a provocative test for distal bicep tendinopathy (distal biceps tendonitis test), specifically partial tears, that was more sensitive and specific. Complete tears are more easily tested in…

Read More
Envelope_1

Sign-up to Get Updates Straight to Your Inbox!

Sign up with us and we will send you regular blog posts on everything hand therapy, notices every time we upload new videos and tutorials, along with handout, protocols, and other useful information.