Finkelstein’s test is used to diagnose which condition?

• A. Trigger finger
• B. Lateral epicondylitis
• C. Carpal tunnel syndrome
• D. De Quervain’s tenosynovitis

Answer: (D)

Finkelstein’s test targets stenosing tenosynovitis of the first dorsal compartment, the area that houses the abductor pollicis longus and extensor pollicis brevis tendons. When you have the patient make a fist with the thumb tucked inside and then move the wrist into ulnar deviation, the glide of those tendons is challenged. If this motion reproduces pain or tenderness over the radial (thumb) side of the wrist, it indicates inflammation of the tendon sheath in that compartment—De Quervain’s tenosynovitis.

This condition is distinct from other common hand problems. Trigger finger involves catching or locking of a finger due to A1 pulley thickening, not the first dorsal compartment. Carpal tunnel syndrome presents with median nerve symptoms like numbness and tingling in the thumb, index, middle fingers, and often a positive Phalen’s or Tinel’s. Lateral epicondylitis causes pain at the elbow with resisted wrist extension, not radial-side wrist tenderness from the first dorsal compartment.