The recovery time for patients with finger extension tendon injuries is not only related to the severity of the patient’s injury, but also to the effectiveness of the patient’s rehabilitation exercises.
Patients who have undergone surgery for an open finger extensor tendon injury generally require four weeks of immobilisation, after which rehabilitation exercises for the finger begin. Depending on the site, the rehabilitation period usually takes about 4 to 8 weeks. Regular outpatient reviews are required during the rehabilitation period to adjust the exercise programme according to functional recovery.
Patients with closed extensor tendon injuries treated conservatively usually require 6 weeks of braking, followed by outpatient review and rehabilitation exercises, which generally take 4 to 6 weeks depending on the recovery. In other words, an extensor tendon injury generally requires 4 to 6 weeks of immobilisation followed by 6 to 8 weeks of rehabilitation, for a total treatment time of approximately 10 to 12 weeks.