We use cookies to understand how you use our site and to improve your experience. This includes personalizing content and advertising. To learn more, click here. By continuing to use our site, you accept our use of cookies. Cookie Policy.

Features Partner Sites Information LinkXpress
Sign In
Advertise with Us

Download Mobile App




Physical Therapy Matches Surgery for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

By HospiMedica International staff writers
Posted on 16 Mar 2017
Print article
Researchers at Universidad Rey Juan Carlos conducted a randomized, parallel-group trial involving 100 women with CTS who were randomly allocated to surgery or a physical therapy regimen focusing on the neck and median nerve for 30 minutes, once a week. Patients were assessed at baseline and at one, three, six, and 12 months after treatment, with the primary outcome being self-rated hand function, as assessed by the Boston CTS questionnaire. Secondary outcomes included active cervical range of motion, pinch-tip grip force, and severity subscale on the Boston questionnaire.

After one month, patients in the physical therapy group had better hand function during daily activities and better grip force than the patients who underwent surgery. At three, six, and 12 months after treatment, patients in the surgery group were no better than those in the physical therapy group; both groups showed similar improvement in function, grip strength, and pain reduction. No improvements in cervical range of motion were observed in either patient group. The study was published in the March 2017 issue of the Journal of Orthopedic & Sports Physical Therapy.

“Conservative treatment may be an intervention option for patients with carpal tunnel syndrome as a first line of management prior to, or instead of surgery,” said lead author César Fernández de las Peñas, PT, PhD, DMSc, of the department of physical therapy, occupational therapy, rehabilitation, and physical medicine. “Because the study only included women from a single hospital, additional research needs to be done to generalize findings.”

CTS involves idiopathic median neuropathy with a pathophysiology not completely understood, but is considered a compression of the median nerve traveling through the carpal tunnel. The main symptom is an intermittent numbness of the thumb, index, long and radial half of the ring finger, which usually occurs at night and is relieved by wearing a wrist splint that prevents flexion. Long-standing CTS leads to permanent nerve damage with constant numbness, atrophy of muscles in the thenar eminence, and weakness of palmar abduction; risk factors are primarily genetic, rather than environmental.

Gold Member
POC Blood Gas Analyzer
Stat Profile Prime Plus
Gold Member
Disposable Protective Suit For Medical Use
Disposable Protective Suit For Medical Use
Silver Member
Compact 14-Day Uninterrupted Holter ECG
NR-314P
New
Vein Illuminator
VSI

Print article

Channels

Critical Care

view channel
Image: The permeable wearable electronics developed for long-term biosignal monitoring (Photo courtesy of CityUHK)

Super Permeable Wearable Electronics Enable Long-Term Biosignal Monitoring

Wearable electronics have become integral to enhancing health and fitness by offering continuous tracking of physiological signals over extended periods. This monitoring is crucial for understanding an... Read more

Patient Care

view channel
Image: The newly-launched solution can transform operating room scheduling and boost utilization rates (Photo courtesy of Fujitsu)

Surgical Capacity Optimization Solution Helps Hospitals Boost OR Utilization

An innovative solution has the capability to transform surgical capacity utilization by targeting the root cause of surgical block time inefficiencies. Fujitsu Limited’s (Tokyo, Japan) Surgical Capacity... Read more

Health IT

view channel
Image: First ever institution-specific model provides significant performance advantage over current population-derived models (Photo courtesy of Mount Sinai)

Machine Learning Model Improves Mortality Risk Prediction for Cardiac Surgery Patients

Machine learning algorithms have been deployed to create predictive models in various medical fields, with some demonstrating improved outcomes compared to their standard-of-care counterparts.... Read more

Point of Care

view channel
Image: The PATHFAST hs-cTnI-II high-sensitivity troponin assay has been developed for the PATHFAST Biomarker Analyzer (Photo courtesy of Polymedco)

POC Myocardial Infarction Test Delivers Results in 17 Minutes

Chest pain is the second leading cause of emergency department (ED) visits by adults in the United States, generating over 7 million visits annually. In the event of a suspected heart attack, physicians... Read more
Copyright © 2000-2024 Globetech Media. All rights reserved.