Clinical Research Directory

The SToICAL Study - The Soft Tissue Injection of Corticosteroid And Local Anaesthetic Study

Some hand conditions can be treated with a steroid injection. Some doctors mix the steroid with local anaesthetic in the hope that the patient will experience less pain after the injection. Some doctors do not do this. It is not known if adding local anaesthetic to the steroid improves patient's pain after the injection. The overall aim of the study is to see whether using local anaesthetic in the steroid injection makes a difference to patients' pain. If the study shows that using local anaesthetic improves patients' pain then the investigators should continue using it. If not, the investigators should stop giving patients unnecessary medication, which would also save the NHS time and money.

Splinting vs Exercise in De Quervain's Tenosynovitis

De Quervain's disease is a painful tenosynovitis of the abductor pollicis longus and extensor pollicis brevis muscle tendons located in the first dorsal compartment. The primary treatment for De Quervain's disease is conservative; surgical intervention is rarely required. Currently, there is no standardized treatment protocol supported by strong, up-to-date evidence. The aim of this study is to compare the effectiveness of a static hand-wrist resting splint and exercise therapy in the conservative treatment of De Quervain's tenosynovitis. Patients will be evaluated in terms of pain levels, functional/symptom status, hand-finger strength, pressure pain threshold (PPT), tendon cross-sectional area measured by ultrasound, and the presence of effusion findings (semiquantitative; 0-3), and patient satisfaction.