Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2016 Oct 31:7:143-151.
doi: 10.2147/OAJSM.S108126. eCollection 2016.

Radial extracorporeal shockwave therapy for the treatment of finger tenosynovitis (trigger digit)

Nikos Malliaropoulos  1 , Rosanna Jury  2 , Debasish Pyne  3 , Nat Padhiar  4 , Jennifer Turner  5 , Vasileios Korakakis  6 , Maria Meke  7 , Heinz Lohrer  8
Affiliations

Radial extracorporeal shockwave therapy for the treatment of finger tenosynovitis (trigger digit)

Nikos Malliaropoulos et al. Open Access J Sports Med. .

Abstract

Introduction: Stenosing tenosynovitis that is characterized by the inability to flex the digit smoothly, usually leads to prolonged rehabilitation or surgery.

Study design: This case series is a retrospective cohort study.

Purpose: The aim of this case series was to evaluate the effectiveness of radial extracorporeal shockwave therapy (rESWT) for the treatment of stenosing tenosynovitis of the digital flexor tendon (trigger digit).

Methods: A retrospective analysis of 44 patients (49 fingers) treated with an individually adapted rESWT protocol was conducted. Trigger digit pain and function were evaluated at baseline and 1-, 3-, and 12-months posttreatment. Recurrence and pretreatment symptom duration were analyzed.

Results: Significant reductions in pain scores and functional improvement were found between baseline and all follow-up assessments (P<0.001). Pretreatment symptom duration was significantly correlated with the number of rESWT sessions required (r=0.776, P<0.001) and 1-year posttreatment pain score (r=0.335, P=0.019).

Conclusion: This study provides initial evidence that rESWT is an effective treatment for trigger digit, but randomised controlled trials are required to provide further evidence of this effect.

Keywords: conservative treatment; non-surgical therapy; physiotherapy; shockwave therapy; tendon; trigger finger; trigger thumb.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Lohrer H received research support and was a paid speaker from Storz Medical. The other authors report no conflicts of interest in this work.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Research study design and stages. Notes: Unidirectional arrows indicate the sequential stages of the study. Bidirectional arrows indicate that correlation between variables was examined Abbreviations: rESWT, radial extracorporeal shockwave therapy; VAS, visual analog scale.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Radial extracorporeal shockwave therapy mean impulses, mean pressure, mean frequency per session, and number of digits (fingers or thumbs) contributing to each successive session.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Radial extracorporeal shockwave therapy mean VAS reduction and average pain level at follow-up time intervals. Abbreviation: VAS, visual analog scale.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Pre-radial extracorporeal shockwave therapy symptoms duration versus the number of sessions required. Abbreviation: rESWT, radial extracorporeal shockwave therapy.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Moore JS. Flexor tendon entrapment of the digits (trigger finger and trigger thumb) J Occup Environ Med. 2000;42(5):526–545. - PubMed
    1. Farnebo S, Chang J. Practical management of tendon disorders in the hand. Plast Reconstr Surg. 2013;132(5):841e–853e. - PubMed
    1. Ryzewicz M, Wolf JM. Trigger digits: principles, management, and complications. J Hand Surg Am. 2006;31(1):135–146. - PubMed
    1. Blyth MJ, Ross DJ. Diabetes and trigger finger. J Hand Surg Br. 1996;21(2):244–245. - PubMed
    1. Laszlo G, Jozsa PK. Human Tendons: Anatomy, Physiology and Pathology. Champaign (IL): Human Kinetics Publishers; 1997.

LinkOut - more resources