• Kevin W Park, Martin I Boyer, Ryan P Calfee, Charles A Goldfarb, and Daniel A Osei.
• Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO; Washington University Institute of Clinical and Translational Sciences, St. Louis, MO.
• J Hand Surg Am. 2014 Nov 1;39(11):2203-7.

PurposeTo determine whether vibratory stimulation would decrease pain experienced by patients during corticosteroid injection for trigger finger.MethodsA total of 90 trigger finger injections were randomized to 1 of 3 cohorts. With the injection, patients received no vibration (control group), ultrasound vibration (sham control group), or vibration (experimental group). We used a commercial handheld massaging device to provide a vibratory stimulus for the experimental group. We obtained visual analog scale (VAS) pain scores before and after injection to assess anticipated pain and actual pain experienced.ResultsAnticipated pain and actual pain did not differ significantly among groups. Anticipated VAS pain scores were 45, 48, and 50 and actual VAS pain scores were 56, 56, and 63 for the vibration, control, and sham control groups, respectively. When normalized using anchoring VAS pain scores for "stubbing a toe" or "paper cut," no between-group differences remained in injection pain scores.ConclusionsConcomitant vibratory stimulation does not reduce pain experienced during corticosteroid injections for trigger finger.Type Of Study/Level Of EvidenceTherapeutic I.Copyright © 2014 American Society for Surgery of the Hand. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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