What is it about?
People come in with hand or finger pain all the time after soft tissue injury. We simulate a relative motion flexion or extension splint with a pencil which keeps the MP joint of the affected finger more flexed or extended than the others. If the pencil takes the pain away, we build a relative motion splint that simulates what the pencil did.
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Why is it important?
We have cured hundreds of patients with various hand pains with relative motion splinting after a positive pencil test. For problems like interosseus tear, it is much more effective than buddy taping. The paper has many video examples of how we solved problems like post surgical pain, post trauma pain, extensor lag after finger fracture and Dupuytren's. There are also videos on how to build the relative motion splints and how to do the pencil test.
Perspectives
Relative motion extension splinting was invented by Wyndell Merritt for extensor tendon lacerations over the hand. It allows reliable patients to return to work 3-5 days after surgery. I have been using those for over 20 years with no rupture (yet). Wyndell then went on to use relative motion flexion splints to solve the boutonniere problem. This works! The same principles that take pain away improve extensor lag after finger fractures or Dupuytren's surgery.
Dr Donald H Lalonde
Dalhousie University
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Solving Hand/Finger Pain Problems with the Pencil Test and Relative Motion Splinting, Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Global Open, October 2017, Wolters Kluwer Health,
DOI: 10.1097/gox.0000000000001537.
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