Which is better for DeQuervain’s: Splinting or Injection?
Filed under Reviews
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 Therapists, 29(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.
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
Leave a Comment
More To Read
Wound Healing in Hand Therapy
By: Maddie Mott Wound healing (healing hand therapy) involves a complex series of interactions between different cell types, cytokine mediators, and the extracellular matrix with its four basic stages including hemostasis, inflammation, proliferation, and remodeling (Mackay & Miller, 2003). Because successful wound healing requires adequate blood and nutrients to be supplied to the site of…
How to Improve HEP Adherence for Optimal Rehabilitation Outcomes
By Sophia Grimm A lack of adherence to home exercise programs in rehabilitation is a significant problem, with nonadherence estimates as high as 30-65% for general musculoskeletal conditions. This could have potentially detrimental effects on patients’ clinical rehabilitation outcomes as the success of certain medical interventions depends largely on patient adherence to advice and prescribed rehabilitation…
Assessments Seen in the Hand Therapy World
By: Dalton Busch Below I have created a list of some of the common assessments that are seen in the hand therapy world. Keep in mind that this list is not inclusive of all the assessments you might come across in this setting. With each assessment, I describe what it is, who the assessment is…
Scar Management in Hand Therapy
Hand therapists may feel they are in a constant battle with scar tissue. It can limit ROM, cause pain, impede other structures, and leave a less than desirable appearance. Scar tissue starts forming as early as 2 weeks after an injury and can continue forming for up to 2 years. The earlier action is taken…
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.
Great way of spreading many studies into a short outcome.