Internal Med Medical News about idiopathic carpal tunnel syndrome;splinting;low-level laser therapy

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Comparison of splinting and splinting plus low-level laser therapy in idiopathic carpal tunnel syndrome
Clinical Rheumatology, 06/26/09

Yagci I et al. – Study reports that both splinting plus low-level laser therapy (SLLLT) and splinting (S) provides improvements in clinical parameters but SLLLT is electrophysiologically superior to splinting in majority of patients with idiopathic mild to moderate carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS).

Methods

A comparison of the short-term efficacy of S and SLLLT in mild or moderate idiopathic CTS
Pts with unilateral, mild, or moderate idiopathic CTS who experienced symptoms over 3 mo were included
The SLLLT group: received 10 sessions of laser therapy and splinting; S group: given only splints
Pts were evaluated at the baseline and after 3 mo of the treatment
Follow-up parameters were:
- Nerve conduction study (NCS)
- Boston Questionnaire (BQ)
- Grip strength, and
- Clinical response criteria

Results

45 pts with CTS completed the study
24 pts were in S and 21 pts were in SLLLT group
In the third-month control, SLLLT group had improvements on both clinical and NCS parameters, while S group had only symptomatic healing
Grip strength of splinting group was decreased significantly
According to clinical response criteria:
- In SLLLT group:
  - 5 (23.8%) pts had full and 12 (57.1%) had partial recovery
  - 4 (19%) pts had no change or worsened
- In S group:
  - 1 patient (4.2%) had full and 17 (70.8%) partial recovery
  - 6 (25%) pts had no change or worsened
Additionally, applied laser therapy provided better outcomes on NCS but not in clinical parameters in patients with CTS