The effectiveness of Wharton’s jelly versus steroid injection for the treatment of thumb carpometacarpal joint arthritis for pain relief and the increase of function

Abstract

We compared the effectiveness of Wharton’s jelly versus steroid injection into the carpometacarpophalangeal joint by comparing 60 patients in two cohorts with a follow up evaluation at three months and then at one year. We evaluated preoperative and postoperative grip strength, pinch strength, thumb range of motion, Disabilities of Arm, Shoulder, and Hand (DASH) score and a Visual Analog (VAS) pain score before the injection and then at 3 months and 12 months after injection. The patients in the steroid injection group had substantial improvement in their DASH and VAS pain scores as well as their pinch strength at 3 months p < .05. However, by the 12-month evaluation the benefits of the steroid injection had completely dissipated. The patients in the Wharton’s jelly cohort had improvements at 3 months in terms DASH and VAS score and pinch strength and this improvement persisted at the one-year evaluation. However, grip strength and thumb range of motion did not substantially improve in either group