DeQuervain’s tenosynovitis is classically associated with new mothers that strain their wrists from carrying their baby too frequently. A woman presented to the surgery clinic with this exact presentation. Her first child was born five months prior and for about two months since then she was experiencing terrible pain in both of her wrists. Physical examination showed tenderness and limited motion bilaterally. Finkelstein’s test was also positive bilaterally. Due to the woman’s pain and her desire to be able to hold her child, it was important to treat her in a way that would maximally heal her tenosynovitis in the shortest amount of time.

This study aimed to identify the most effective treatment for deQuervain’s disease when comparing the effectiveness of methylprednisolone acetate injections with thumb spica cast and thumb spica cast alone. This randomized controlled trial involved 134 patients diagnosed with deQervain’s tenosynovitis. The subjects were divided into two groups – one group which received both the injection and the casting and one group which only received casting. Although both groups showed marked improvement in regards to pain and function over the course of six weeks, the group which received both the injections and the thumb spica cast had more significantly reduced pain compared to the group that only received the cast. 

The findings of this study confirmed the treatment approach that was taken for the woman mentioned above. These results confirmed that providing the patient with an injection in addition to the cast would benefit the patient most.