ESWT vs Orthosis in Trigger Finger

Recently, two works have proposed the application of Extracorporeal Shock Waves Therapy (ESWT) in the treatment of trigger finger. Yildirim and colleagues (2016) compared shock waves with corticosteroid infiltration. both methods proved effective at 6 months. The authors suggested that shock wave treatment could be a valid non-invasive therapy option for this pathology. Chen and colleagues (2021) analyzed two different shock wave protocols \[high and low Energy Density Flux (EDF)\] vs placebo. All treatment groups showed improvements within 6 months. The high-energy treatment (EDF 0.01 mj/mm2) demonstrated greater effects on clinical remission and functional recovery compared to the other two groups in the study. The aim of our study is to compare the effects of shock waves vs the use of the orthosis.

NCT Number	NCT06737601
Lead Sponsor	Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria Consorziale Policlinico di Bari
Conditions	Trigger Finger
Enrollment	40 participants
Start Date	2025-11-15
Primary Completion	2027-01-01 (estimated)
Study Completion	2028-01-01 (estimated)
Updated on ClinicalTrials.gov	2026-07-28