3-Point Products' Blog

With Rheumatoid Arthritis, the immune system mistakenly attacks the body’s own tissues affecting the lining of the joints and causing swelling that may eventually result in bone erosion and joint deformity. The wrist and fingers are involved in approximately 75% of cases.

The early stages of RA include pain, swelling, and stiffness upon waking, while the later stages include progression to significant deformity and instability. A common treatment in the early stages is the use of a resting orthosis at night during sleep.

Introducing 3pp Clinic Connect

Much has changed in the last year, but it has not changed our commitment to healthcare providers and their patients. We are proud to introduce our NEW 3pp Clinic Connect program to better serve healthcare professionals and offer a new convenient way to Stay informed, Stay updated and Stay connected with 3 Point Products.

The CMCcare Thumb Brace functional design leaves the ulnar side of the hand free and stabilizes the CMC to allow unimpeded function for excellent patient compliance. 

Features of the CMCcare include:

Hand surgeons carefully plan their incisions for surgery and recommend therapy protocols following surgical interventions to prevent abundant scar formation. While some scarring is a necessity for closure of a surgical wound, too much scarring or thick, hypertrophic scarring may cause loss of motion and sensitivity.

For example, a trigger finger release procedure allows the tendon to glide more easily through the A1 pulley area, however adherent scarring at this surgical site can impede the glide of the flexor tendon.

Scarring is a normal response to soft tissue injury in which fibrous collagen tissue replaces pre-injury skin and surrounding tissue. Scar tissue begins as weak crosslinks across a wound, but remodels and strengthens especially with tension from neighboring skin.  At times the scarring process is uneventful, but scarring can also work like a type of glue causing adherence of structures under the superficial scar that results in

What is Ehlers Danlos Syndrome 

Ehlers Danlos Syndrome (EDS) is an inherited condition of a collection of connective tissue disorders, of which the hypermobile type is the most common. Individuals with Hypermobile EDS classically present with hyperextensible joints and skin. 

Research statistics on EDS suggest the prevalence of the disorder is 1 in 2,500 to 1 in 5,000, but due to difficulty recognizing and accurately diagnosing the Hypermobility Type, the incidence is suspected to be much greater.

Summer is here and working in the gardens and flower beds and pulling up the weeds is in full swing. This work may help the landscaping look beautiful, but for those with osteoarthritis at the base of the thumb, the force from pinching and pulling at the weeds can leave thumbs hurting. While textbooks and older research studies discuss using an orthosis, paraffin, gentle AROM, and joint protection techniques to address the pain and limited function associated with trapeziometacarpal arthritis (TMC), more recent studies highlight the potential benefit of stabilization and proprioceptive exercises for this diagnosis.

Clients with lateral epicondylitis (also known as tennis elbow) consistently appear on my schedule. As therapists, we know that swinging the tennis racket is not the only possible cause of this diagnosis. Lateral epicondylitis is due to a degenerative process at the poorly vascularized origin of the wrist extensors on the boney prominence at the lateral elbow. It is often contributed to over use of the wrist extensors. Individuals with this diagnosis often describe pain at the lateral elbow that is persistent, very uncomfortable and limiting.

Osteoarthritis (OA) at the base of the thumb is a common diagnosis among older individuals.  Research suggests that 26.2% of women and 13.4 % of men age 71-100 years old have symptoms of this diagnosis and that approximately 70% of community dwelling individuals with hand pain have OA at the base of the thumb as well.

Studies have consistently found that using an orthosis helps to decrease pain and improve function for individuals with arthritis at the base of the thumb. There is no consistent evidence to suggest that one orthosis is more effective than another, however, research does suggest that individuals prefer pre-fabricated designed orthoses.

Medial epicondylitis or golfer's elbow as it is commonly termed, is characterized by pain at or around the boney prominence at the medial aspect of the elbow where the wrist flexors and one of the forearm pronators (pronator teres) originate. This diagnosis is associated with degenerative changes of the musculotendinous origins at the medial elbow and most often involves the pronator teres, flexor carpi radialis or palmaris longus.