Conservative Therapy for OA in the Fingers: A Literature Review
Filed under Treatments
Beasley, J., Ward, L., Knipper-Fisher, K., Hughes, K., Lunsford, D., & Leiras, C. (2018). Conservative therapeutic interventions for osteoarthritic finger joints: A systematic review. Journal of Hand Therapy, 32. 153-164.
The Skinny – The article reviews the evidence on the effectiveness of conservative treatment for those who experience osteoarthritis in fingers and in their finger joints (osteoarthritis treatment hands).
In the Weeds– Eighteen studies met the inclusion criteria. Interventions reported in the literature review included active range of motion, gentle resistive exercises, joint protection strategies, electromagnetic therapy, paraffin wax, balneotherapy, as well as DIP orthoses.
The results from the review yielded that there is high quality evidence supporting the use of electromagnetic therapy combined with hand exercises to decrease pain and increase overall function. There is moderate to high evidence for the use and wear of a DIP orthosis to decrease pain in the finger joint. Finally, it was reported that there was moderate evidence to support resistive exercises to improve overall grip strength and decrease pain for individual experiencing osteoarthritis in their hands.
Bringing it home – The authors concluded there are a variety of conservative treatments that may be utilized for those experiencing pain and stiffness from hand osteoarthritis (oa hand). Interventions supported are electromagnetic therapy with thera-ex, use of a dip orthosis for painful joints and gentle resistive hand exercises. All should be performed within a pain free range.
Overall, the article is well written and easy to follow. It was difficult to analyze studies due to lack of homogeneity among the studies. The article provides evidence as to what conservative intervention are supported in the literature as well as insight into additional options for therapists.
More To Read
Scar Wars: Scar Management Techniques
We will briefly discuss Scar Management Options and Techniques
Occupation Based Interventions in Hand Therapy
Keeping Occupation Based Interventions in Hand Therapy By: Tristany Hightower Are your treatments occupation based? Do you tailor your activity choices to fit the needs of each patient? As occupational therapists, we should be specialists in creating goals and interventions that are directed at returning our patients to meaningful occupations. Too often, hand therapy can…
Sensory Kit for Hypersensitivity
Written by Melissa Miller Introduction After injury or surgery, nerves in the skin and surrounding the injured area can become overly sensitive. This can cause pain or an unpleasant sensation by stimuli that would not typically cause discomfort. For example, a light touch from a shirt or a certain material can feel like needles to…
Scapholunate Wrist Injuries in Hand Therapy
Scapholunate Wrist Injuries in Hand Therapy In outpatient hand therapy, we get a variety of referrals ranging from post-operative patients to those looking to avoid or prolong surgery. These referrals come from a variety of sources ranging from primary care doctors to experienced hand surgeons. The therapy orders can be vague to very specific. …
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.