Symptoms of De Quervain’s tenosynovitis can be relieved
by acupuncture treatment and its effectiveness is as good as local injection of
corticosteroid, according to a report published in Journal of Acupuncture and
Meridian Studies.
De Quervain’s tenosynovitis, named after the Swiss
surgeon Fritz de Quervain who described it first in 1895, is a painful
condition affecting the tendons on the thumb side of the wrist. The cause of
this condition is not clear. It is believed that any activity relying on
repetitive hand or wrist movement such as working in the garden, playing golf
etc can make it worse. Common approaches for tenosynovitis include rest,
physiotherapy, pain killers and local injection of corticosteroid which is the
most common and effective treatment option. However local corticosteroid injection
has many side effects including irritation, soft tissue calcification and skin
defect etc.
Researchers in Iran conducted a clinical trial to compare
the effectiveness of acupuncture and local corticosteroid injection on patients
with tenosynovitis. Thirty patients were
allocated to two groups. Patients in group one were treated with acupuncture on
specific acupoints for 30 mins a day for 5 days. Patients in group two were
given local corticosteroid injection. The degree of disabilities and pain of
affected wrist were assessed by using the Quick Disabilities of the Arm,
Shoulder and Hand (Q-DASH) and the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) before and after
treatment. It was found that by the 2 weeks and 6 weeks after treatment
respectively, both treatments significantly reduced the disabilities and pain
of affected wrist. Although corticosteroid injection was slightly more
effective than acupuncture there is no significant difference between two
treatments.
Authors suggest that acupuncture is an effective
alternative treatment for tenosynovitis with little adverse effect.
Reference:
Hadianfard M et al., Efficacy
of Acupuncture versus Local Methylprednisolone Acetate Injection in De
Quervain's Tenosynovitis: A Randomized Controlled Trial. J Acupunct Meridian
Stud. 2014 Jun;7(3):115-21. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24929455
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