Preliminary Efficacy of Court-type Thai Traditional Massage on Trigger Finger: A Pilot Study

Abstract

Trigger finger, a condition in which the fingers lock while bending them and unable to come back straight, is caused by thick inflammation of the tendon sheath in the fingers resulting in more pain and disability of fingers. The royal Thai massage is one way of treating the locked fingers in the initial stages which can be effective in reducing the locking of the fingers and reducing pain. However, there is still a lack of research to confirm the effectiveness of the royal massage in the treatment of locked fingers. This study was an experimental research without a control group (experimental research uncontrolled trial). Its aims were to determine the basic effectiveness of reducing finger pain and to assess the movement of fingers daily before and after the massage treatment. The study involved 30 participants, aged 30–65 years, diagnosed with trigger finger, mild to moderate levels. The results showed that, of all participants, 90% were women aged 51–60 years (53.3%). The evaluation of finger pain before and after the massage showed that the pain scores decreased significantly (P < 0.05) from 4.3 ± 2.1 (before) to 1.6 ± 0.3 (after the 3rd massage on day 5). The force of the handful finger stretching after massage showed that the hand grip angle finger stretching was better than before massage. In addition, the test of hand power, most of the patients who received the treatment 3 times, had moderate hand strength and after the massage they had better finger strength.