Highlights
- •Effects of postoperative rehabilitation for trigger finger with joint contracture are shown.
- •Quantitative evaluation of trigger finger function before and after surgery is shown.
- •Participants who received rehabilitation demonstrated greater improvements.
Abstract
Objective
To develop and test a postoperative rehabilitation protocol for use by individuals
with trigger finger undergoing ultrasound-guided percutaneous pulley release.
Design
Nonrandomized controlled trial.
Setting
Hospital and local community.
Participants
Individuals suffering from trigger finger with joint contracture (N=21) were recruited
and grouped into an intervention group (n=9) or a control group (n=12).
Interventions
All the participants underwent the same surgical procedure performed by the same surgeon.
A 4-week postoperative rehabilitation program was designed based on the wound healing
process. The intervention group received postoperative rehabilitation after the surgery,
whereas the control group received no treatment after the surgery.
Main Outcome Measures
The finger movement functions were quantitatively evaluated before and 1 month after
the surgery using a 3-dimensional motion capture system. The fingertip workspace and
joint range of motion (ROM) were evaluated while the participant was performing a
sequential 5-posture movement, including finger extension, intrinsic plus, straight
fist, full fist, and hook fist.
Results
The intervention group demonstrated significantly more improvements than the control
group in the fingertip workspace (49% vs 17%), ROM of the distal interphalangeal (DIP)
joint (16% vs 4%), ROM of the proximal interphalangeal (PIP) joint (21% vs 5%), and
total active ROM (17% vs 5%).
Conclusions
This pilot study evaluated a postoperative rehabilitation protocol for trigger finger
and demonstrated its effects on various finger functions. Participants who underwent
the rehabilitation program had significantly more improvements in the fingertip workspace,
ROM of the DIP and PIP joints, and total active ROM.
Keywords
List of abbreviations:
A1 (first annular), DIP (distal interphalangeal), MP (metacarpophalangeal), PIP (proximal interphalangeal), ROM (range of motion)To read this article in full you will need to make a payment
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: September 20, 2014
Footnotes
Supported by the Taiwan National Science Council (grant no. NSC 98-2627-B-006-014).
Disclosures: none.
Identification
Copyright
© 2015 American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
