Occupation-based assessments and treatments of trigger finger: a survey of occupational therapists from Israel and the United States.

The purpose of this study was to describe the reported evaluation and treatment methods commonly administered by occupational therapy (OT) specialists in hand therapy for patients with trigger finger (TF). Sixty-one therapists from Israel and the United States completed an electronic survey. Sixty-nine per cent of the therapists reported evaluating TF symptoms (body function level) as part of their assessment protocol; however, only 25% reported the use of occupation-based measures for the assessment of people with TF. All therapists reported using orthoses to treat TF, yet significant differences were found between the groups regarding the frequency of using physical agent modalities, exercise and activity modifications. The results of the study point to the limited use of occupation-based assessments and to a lack of consensus regarding treatment guidelines for TF. The study is limited by a restricted sample size and a low response rate from US therapists, which warrant caution in generalization of the findings. Further research is needed to study the broad implications of TF in order to inform the assessment of TF in OT and to establish the foundations for future treatment efficacy studies.