Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is one of the reasons for labor abandonment due to inability and pain. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of gabapentin and exercise training in the treatment of CTS and compare their effects. This single-blind clinical trial was conducted on patients referred to the Imam Hossein hospital’s electrodiagnostic (EDX) unit. The patients randomly assigned into four groups: using nocturnal splint as an approved treatment in the control group; taking 300-mg gabapentin per night and using nocturnal splint; nerve and tendon gliding exercises and using nocturnal splint; and taking 300-mg gabapentin per night, performing same exercise as group 3 and using nocturnal splint. At baseline, four indicators were assessed in all patients, including the Boston carpal tunnel questionnaire, visual analogue scale (VAS), pinch and grip strength of the affected hand. One month after the beginning of intervention, participants were reassessed and compared for each of the four indicators. Using nocturnal splint along with exercise and gabapentin significantly improved VAS, pinch and grip strength in moderate CTS compared to control group that only used nocturnal splint. However in mild CTS, grip strength was not significantly higher compared to control group (P=0.048). Results of this study showed that use of splint alone in mild CTS is an appropriate and sufficient treatment; however, in moderate CTS, receiving gabapentin along with exercise and splinting showed better treatment results compared to splinting alone.
Background: Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is the most prevalent form of peripheral neuropathy. There are various treatments for carpal tunnel. Objectives: In this study, we evaluated the effect of electroacupuncture and exercise on pinch and grip strength and wrist range of motion in patients with mild to moderate CTS. Methods: Sixty patients with carpal tunnel syndrome were evaluated in this study, only five of whom were male. In this study, patients were divided into three groups. The control group consisted of 20 patients who only used splints in the second group, in addition to splints, special exercises were administered, and the third group, electroacupuncture, and brace were prescribed for 12 sessions of 40-minute duration. study time was 6 weeks. The parameters of pinch force, grip force, ROM (flexion and extension) were evaluated at baseline and after the treatment. Results: In this study, 55 women and 5 men with an average age of 49.23 ± 8.96 were enrolled. At the final follow up, significant improvements in all parameters were found in third groups (P < 0.05), except flexion of the wrist in the control group (P = 0.098). Our findings indicate that exercise therapy had more effect on ROM of flexion than acupuncture and acupuncture had more effect on pinching than exercise therapy but the effect sizes were weak. Also, the efficacy of splint alone was less than intervention groups in all parameters. Conclusions: Results of this study demonstrated that adding exercise or acupuncture to nocturnal splinting, the functional improvement is more in patients with mild to moderate carpal tunnel syndrome and these interventions could be adopted in the management of these patients.
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS) is the most common disorder of neural involvement and the purpose of this study was to determine the impact of Stretching and Massage Therapy on Pain and Function of Females suffering Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. This Randomised Clinical Trial was implemented on 30 females (age: 32 + 4, height: 165 + 8, and weight: 62 + 6) who divided into 3 groups of 10 persons. First group received 20 session of massage therapy while the second had 20 session of stretching exercises and the third group just used the wrist brace. Standard Visual Analogue Scale for Pain (VAS Pain), Boston questionnaire have been used. Descriptive statistics were used for stratifying data and Shapiro test, independent T-test and U Mann Whitney test were used for analysis of data by SPPS version 18. Based on U Mann Whitney test, the effect of massage therapy on pain reduction in CTS is significant (p = 0.5). It has also has shown that massage therapy is effective on severity of symptoms of CTS and improvement of wrist and hand function (p = 0.022), but it doesn’t have any significant impact on paresthesia (p = 0.281), range of motion (p = 0.655), grip force (p = 0.427), and pinch force (p = 0.145) of CTS patients. Independent T-test between stretching group and wrist brace group showed that stretching had a significant effect on pain (p = 0.017), function (p = 0.011), and severity of signs and symptoms of CTS (p = 0.024), but it didn’t have any meaningful impact on paresthesia (p = 0.176), range of motion (p = 0.0537), grip force (p = 0.0587), and pinch force (p = 0.481) of patients. It has been concluded that stretching and massage could be used for treatment of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.