[Conservative treatment options for symptomatic thumb trapeziometacarpal joint osteoarthritis].

Background: There are numerous non-surgical treatment options for basal thumb osteoarthritis (OA).

Objectives: Aetiology, clinical appearance and diagnosis of basal thumb OA, explanation of the individual non-surgical treatment options, presentation of the current state of studies.

Material and methods: Search for case analyses, studies, systematic reviews and meta-analyses using PubMed and LIVIVO.

Results: Intraarticular injections have no more than short-term success with the risk of infection, which should not be underestimated. Radiotherapy seems to be an effective treatment, but little research has been done on this. Physiotherapy and splinting treatment promise long-term improvement of clinical symptoms and hand function.

Conclusion: Basal thumb OA is a common and serious condition, which in the case of continuous pain should be diagnosed and treated adequately. A multi-modal therapeutic regimen with avoidance of repetitive intra-articular injections seems to provide the best long-term results.