Highlights
- •Three-month usage of orthotic device at night provides clinical, electrophysiological, and ultrasonographical recovery in carpal tunnel syndrome patients, and this improvement can be preserved for up to 6 months.
- •Orthotic intervention plus kinesiotaping provides better results on reducing pain and endoneural edema compared to use of a night orthotic, especially in mild carpal tunnel syndrome patients, and this superiority can last for up to 6 months.
- •Six-month follow-up was a challenge in this study.
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of the study was to compare different conservative treatments in patients
with carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS).
Study Design
A single-blind randomized controlled study.
Methods
Patients (n = 169) diagnosed with mild or moderate CTS were screened; 110 met study requirements.
The patients were randomized into 3 groups. The control (CON) comparison provided
to all patients was a fabricated night orthotic which held the wrist in a neutral
position. The second group received adjunctive kinesiotaping (KIN) and the third group
received paraffin (PARA). All patients were evaluated clinically, electrophysiologically,
and ultrasonographically before treatment and at 3 weeks, 3 months, and 6 months.
Results
There were 36 patients in CON, 37 in KIN, and 37 in PARA. Pain reduction in KIN was
better than the other groups at 3 weeks (mean difference [MD] in CON 2.4 ± 2.5, KIN
3.7 ± 2.0, PARA 2.7 ± 2.3; P < .01) and 6 months (MD in CON 3.4 ± 3.0, KIN 4.9 ± 3.1, PARA 3.7 ± 2.9; P < .05). KIN pain reduction was better than CON at 3 months (MD in CON 3.8 ± 2.8,
KIN 5.0 ± 2.5; P < .05). Reduction of the cross-sectional area of median nerve at the level of radioulnar
joint was greater for KIN than CON at 3 weeks (MD in CON 0.0 ± 0.5, KIN 0.3 ± 0.7;
P < .01) than PARA at 3 months (MD in KIN 0.3 ± 0.8, PARA 0.0 ± 0.8; P < .05) and both groups at 6 months (MD in CON 0.1 ± 0.8, KIN 0.5 ± 0.9, PARA 0.0
± 1.0 P < .05).
Conclusion
Adding KIN to night use of an orthotic was more effective in achieving symptomatic
and structural improvements than either the orthotic alone or adjunctive use of paraffin
in patients with mild and moderate CTS.
Keywords
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JHT Read for Credit
Quiz: # 615
Record your answers on the Return Answer Form found on the tear-out coupon at the back of this issue or to complete online and use a credit card, go to JHTReadforCredit.com. There is only one best answer for each question.
- # 1.The study design was
- a.double blind RCTs
- b.single blind RTCs
- c.case series
- d.retrospective cohort
- a.
- # 2.The subject population was
- a.actual patients displaying moderate to severe CTS
- b.college students with intermittent median parasthesias
- c.post op CTS patients
- d.actual patients diagnosed with mild to moderate CTS
- a.
- # 3.All subjects received
- a.kinesiotaping
- b.paraffin baths
- c.a night orthotic devise with the wrist held in neutral
- d.dry needling
- a.
- # 4.In addition to traditional assessment tools the authors evaluated the subjects using
- a.qualitative techniques
- b.ultrasonography
- c.manual therapy techniques
- d.MRI
- a.
- # 5.The authors concluded that kinesiotaping was an effective adjunctive intervention to the control group
- a.true
- b.false
- a.
When submitting to the HTCC for re-certification, please batch your JHT RFC certificates in groups of 3 or more to get full credit.
Article info
Publication history
Published online: February 17, 2018
Accepted:
December 30,
2017
Received in revised form:
December 23,
2017
Received:
May 3,
2017
Footnotes
Conflict of interest: All named authors hereby declare that they have no conflicts of interest to disclose.
Identification
Copyright
© 2018 Hanley & Belfus, an imprint of Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
