Carpal Tunnel Treatment
There is no solid consensus on the best carpal tunnel syndrome treatment techniques. Treatment can even be called conflicting and controversial, but a new study shows that surgical decompression seems to offer 19 percent to 27 percent more relief than non-surgical treatments, especially splinting. The study was led by Renato J. Verdugo, M.D. from the Universidad de Chile and was published in a Cochrane Review.
Carpal Tunnel syndrome happens when the median nerve is compressed at the wrist. Carpal tunnel causes muscle weakness, pain, tingling and can be caused by genetics, trauma, pregnancy and some work-related repetitive tasks, though work-related carpal tunnel is still controversial with ongoing debate.
To find out more about the effectiveness of carpal tunnel syndrome treatments, Dr. Verdugo and colleagues found all the randomized trials they could find on surgical and non-surgical treatments and compared the studies with follow-ups from 3 months to one year. This pooled estimate does not overlook that it still may be different for each patient, depending on occupation, severity of the case of carpal tunnel, age, and degree of symptoms. Although this study provided some results, more research is needed to find out whether surgical decompression is best for those with only mild symptoms.
The researchers found that:
* Surgical decompression showed clinical improvement.
* Splinting was the less effective non-surgical treatment.
* Many patients who received non-surgical treatment went on to need surgery.
* Only a few who had surgical treatment needed reoperation later.
* Those treated initially with surgery had many discomforts, such as wrist discomfort and wound hematoma.
In the end, the researchers decided that surgical decompression was definitely superior over splinting for clinical improvement, which involves improvement in the quality of life, and at least a 50 percent reduction in numbness, muscle weakness, pain and tingling sensations. Unfortunately, there are still adverse effects.
In addition, there were conflicting results when comparing surgical decompression to steroid injection. There was definitely no clear evidence that surgical decompression is superior to steroid injection. More research will not only be needed for the subgroups (age, occupation, severity of the case of carpal tunnel, degree of symptoms, etc.) but more research will be needed to decide if steroid injection works just as well as surgical decompression.
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Carpal Tunnel syndrome happens when the median nerve is compressed at the wrist. Carpal tunnel causes muscle weakness, pain, tingling and can be caused by genetics, trauma, pregnancy and some work-related repetitive tasks, though work-related carpal tunnel is still controversial with ongoing debate.
To find out more about the effectiveness of carpal tunnel syndrome treatments, Dr. Verdugo and colleagues found all the randomized trials they could find on surgical and non-surgical treatments and compared the studies with follow-ups from 3 months to one year. This pooled estimate does not overlook that it still may be different for each patient, depending on occupation, severity of the case of carpal tunnel, age, and degree of symptoms. Although this study provided some results, more research is needed to find out whether surgical decompression is best for those with only mild symptoms.
The researchers found that:
* Surgical decompression showed clinical improvement.
* Splinting was the less effective non-surgical treatment.
* Many patients who received non-surgical treatment went on to need surgery.
* Only a few who had surgical treatment needed reoperation later.
* Those treated initially with surgery had many discomforts, such as wrist discomfort and wound hematoma.
In the end, the researchers decided that surgical decompression was definitely superior over splinting for clinical improvement, which involves improvement in the quality of life, and at least a 50 percent reduction in numbness, muscle weakness, pain and tingling sensations. Unfortunately, there are still adverse effects.
In addition, there were conflicting results when comparing surgical decompression to steroid injection. There was definitely no clear evidence that surgical decompression is superior to steroid injection. More research will not only be needed for the subgroups (age, occupation, severity of the case of carpal tunnel, degree of symptoms, etc.) but more research will be needed to decide if steroid injection works just as well as surgical decompression.
Return to:
Additional Posts
Social security definition of disability - When is a person considered disabled?
Social security disability definition - to get social security disability do you have to be permanently disabled?
Social Security disability list of impairments
Labels: carpal tunnel surgery, carpal tunnel syndrome, carpal tunnel treatment
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