Hand/Wrist News

EFORT Open Reviews is the new open access journal from EFORT and Bone & Joint Publishing. All articles are free to read online with no subscription required.

LAS VEGAS — At the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons Annual Meeting, Jesse B. Jupiter, MD, discussed whether volar plating was enough for the treatment of distal radius fractures. He said volar plates are not always suitable or applicable for all patients with distal radius fractures and that additional technologies may be needed.

LAS VEGAS — Reducing a distal radius fracture by fixing it with a volar plate can be optimized by keeping in mind concepts, like accuracy of the reduction and ensuring the distal radioulnar joint is reduced, a presenter said at the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons Annual Meeting.

Carpal tunnel syndrome is the most common compression neuropathy and it affects nearly 12 million Americans and up to 7% of manual labor workers. More than 500,000 carpal tunnel releases are performed annually in the United States to treat patients with severe or refractory symptoms. The primary goal of carpal tunnel release is to transect the transverse carpal ligament to reduce median nerve compression and thereby relieve pain, numbness and tingling, and improve function.

LAS VEGAS — Preoperative counseling did not significantly decrease opioid consumption after outpatient hand surgery; however, patients who did receive counseling were more satisfied with their postoperative pain experience, according to research presented at the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons Annual Meeting.

LAS VEGAS — No significant differences in the pain experience or pill consumption were seen between patients who received an opioid vs. a non-opioid after carpel tunnel or trigger finger release, according to a presentation at the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons Annual Meeting.

EFORT Open Reviews is the new open access journal from EFORT and Bone & Joint Publishing. All articles are free to read online with no subscription required.

Similar to the types of injuries observed with overuse of the computer, orthopedic surgeons and physical therapists have begun to see an increase in musculoskeletal overuse injuries associated with chronic phone and tablet use.

Patients with carpal tunnel syndrome treated with corticosteroid injection experienced superior clinical effectiveness at 6 weeks compared to patients treated with night-resting splints, according to results published in The Lancet.

The International Rheumatologic Board — consisting of eight experts from six different countries — recently developed an algorithm to help primary care physicians determine whether they should treat osteoarthritis or if they should refer such patients to a specialist.