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
Mirror Therapy
Mirror therapy has many implications for therapy and can be used to treat many diagnoses that commonly involve the upper extremity. These include some of the Neuro Conditions we highlighted last week including, Stroke and Focal Hand Dystonia. Btw, you can download a mirror therapy exercises pdf here for free. How long should the patient…
5+ Common Mallet Finger Splints
Finger orthoses can be tough, and the mallet finger orthosis is no exception. The protocol for 15 degrees of DIP extension with mallet fingers is tricky to manage while making a splint. Small splints on little fingers are also tricky to get sized just right and with strapping in the right places. Ask any experienced…
Pros and Cons of Cortisone Injections
By: Shruti Jani Patients will often times ask the therapist their opinion on cortisone injections. Cortisone injections can be very helpful and significantly reduce inflammation, however, some therapists feel this can mask the pain not treating the true root cause of the problem. This is often debated among therapists. A short synopsis of the pros…
K-tape and Cerebral Palsy
Allah-Rastii, Z., Shamsoddini, A., Dalvand, H. and Labaf, S. (2017). The effect of kinesio taping on handgrip and active range of motion of hand in children with cerebral palsy. Iranian Journal of Child Neurology, 11(4), 43-51. The Skinny: Cerebral palsy is a non-progressive motor impairment caused by injury to the developing brain that can…
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.