Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

2022 Journal of Acupuncture Research

Electroacupuncture treatment for carpal tunnel syndrome was reported to be effective and showed a significant difference from the control group.

Although electroacupuncture treatment for carpal tunnel syndrome was reported to be effective and showed a significant difference from the control group, in some evaluation items no significant differences were observed. The quality and the number of studies included in this review was limiting, therefore an accurate evaluation of the efficacy of electroacupuncture treatment for CTS was not possible.

Electroacupuncture for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome: A Review of Randomized Controlled Trials Park CW, Lim MJ, Lee SW, Yi YH, Song DW, Yu SG, Kim MJ, Oh DY, Choi HJ, Ju AR

2022 Medical Acupuncture

Acupuncture may be effective and safe for short-term pain reduction and functional improvement in hand-and-wrist conditions.

In the 10 included RCTs (622 participants), 6 had a low risk of bias. For cryotherapy-induced pain, 1 trial showed significant pain reduction post treatment. For rheumatoid arthritis, 1 trial shown significant pain reduction and function improvements post treatment and short-term. For carpal tunnel syndrome, 1 trial showed significant pain reduction and functional improvements intermediate-term, while 3 trials suggested no significant difference. For tenosynovitis, 1 trial showed significant pain reduction and function improvements short-term. For poststroke impairments, 1 trial showed significant function improvements post treatment and at short-term, while another trial suggested no significant difference. No significant improvements were noted for trapezio-metacarpal joint osteoarthritis. In 2 trials, adverse effects occurred in patients with carpal tunnel syndrome; yet acupuncture appeared to be relatively safe.

The Effect of Acupuncture on Hand and Wrist Pain Intensity, Functional Status, and Quality of Life in Adults: A Systematic Review Trinh K, Zhou F, Belski N, Deng J, Wong CY

2021 Journal of Pharmacopuncture

Acupuncture treatment for carpal tunnel syndrome, unlike conventional medicine which has serious side effects, showed no serious side effects in papers that reported adverse effects.

No significant adverse effect of acupuncture was reported in any study. However, adverse effects of the comparator intervention included gastrointestinal side effects due to ibuprofen as well as nausea and gastric pain due to prednisolone. In particular, the adverse effects of prednisolone decreased the number of participants in clinical trials. The abovementioned findings confirm the safety of acupuncture, which has no serious side effects.

Effect of Manual Acupuncture for Mild-to-Moderate Carpal Tunnel Syndrome: A Systematic Review Huh JH, Jeong HI, Kim KH

2021 Journal of Pharmacopuncture

Acupuncture can be used for carpal tunnel syndrome treatment without serious adverse effects.

In the selected papers, several measurement tools measured the post-treatment improvement of patients and, in most cases, a comparison of the acupuncture and control groups showed that acupuncture treatment was significantly more effective than the comparator intervention. Thus, acupuncture treatment was positively evaluated with regard to efficacy for mild-to-moderate carpal tunnel syndrome.

Effect of Manual Acupuncture for Mild-to-Moderate Carpal Tunnel Syndrome: A Systematic Review Huh JH, Jeong HI, Kim KH

2020 Neuropediatrics

Acupuncture and electroacupuncture are a therapeutic option for mild to moderate carpal tunnel syndrome with a medium level of scientific evidence, tending towards a high level, and with a medium level of recommendation.

The search retrieved 698 articles in total. After applying the inclusion and exclusion criteria, 21 articles were included. The level of evidence of all the articles was medium-high. The level of recommendation was medium, and the risk of bias was neutral, with a tendency towards low bias. The articles included revealed symptomatic and neurophysiological improvements, both peripheral as well as central, due to the cerebral response that occurs associated with the function of the median nerve.

Acupuncture and electroacupuncture in the treatment of carpal tunnel syndrome: Systematic review Badia M, Santafé MM

2019 Clinical Rehabilitation

For both symptom relief and function improvement, manual acupuncture is superior to ibuprofen for carpal tunnel syndrome.

Result of this systematic review has shown that acupuncture and related therapies appear to be effective in improving symptoms, function and pain in carpal tunnel syndrome.

However, validity of such conclusion is limited as majority of the included trials are at high risk of bias from lack of blinding.

Associated adverse events were minimal.

Acupuncture and related interventions for carpal tunnel syndrome: systematic review Wu IXY, Lam VCK, Ho RST, Cheung WKW, Sit RWS, Chou LW, Zhang Y, Leung TH, Chung VCH

2019 Timisoara Physical Education and Rehabilitation Journal

The results of manual, traditional and non-invasive therapies are similar to those of surgical treatments, and even better in a very large number of cases.

In the current context of medicine and therapy, statistics indicate a tendency to approach the carpal tunnel syndrome by surgical treatment, to the detriment of approaching the pathology through a non-invasive technique. The relevant specialized articles selected for this study, and published in the past 10 years, prove that alternative medicine, physical therapy, electrotherapy, and the natural evolution of untreated patients or of patients exposed to the placebo effect, may significantly improve the symptoms of the carpal tunnel syndrome.

Systematic review of treatment methods for the carpal tunnel syndrome Glazer C, Pantea C

2017 The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine

The majority of randomised controlled trials showed benefit for acupuncture over control in the treatment of diabetic neuropathy, Bell's palsy, and carpal tunnel syndrome.

Fifteen studies were included: 13 original RCTs, a long-term follow-up, and a re-analysis of a prior RCT. The selected RCTs studied acupuncture for neuropathy caused by diabetes, Bell's palsy, carpal tunnel syndrome, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), and idiopathic conditions.

Acupuncture is probably effective in the treatment of HIV-related neuropathy, and there is insufficient evidence for its benefits in idiopathic neuropathy. Acupuncture appears to improve nerve conduction study parameters in both sensory and motor nerves.

Acupuncture is beneficial in some peripheral neuropathies, but more rigorously designed studies using sham-acupuncture control are needed to characterize its effect and optimal use better.

Acupuncture for the Treatment of Peripheral Neuropathy: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Alexandra Dimitrova, Charles Murchison, and Barry Oken.

2015 Neurology

The majority of trials demonstrate a positive effect of acupuncture over control condition in the treatment of neuropathy.

The majority of RCTs reviewed showed clear benefit for acupuncture over control in the treatment of diabetic neuropathy, Bell’s palsy and carpal tunnel syndrome. Acupuncture is probably effective in the treatment of HIV-related neuropathy and there is insufficient evidence for its benefits in idiopathic neuropathy. Meta-analyses of all diabetic neuropathy and bell’s palsy data using a summary estimate random effects model showed combined Odds Ratio (OR) of 4.23, p<0.001 favoring acupuncture over control for pain outcomes. The majority of trials demonstrate a positive effect of acupuncture over control condition in the treatment of neuropathy. Further more rigorously designed studies are needed to better characterize this effect.

Effects of Acupuncture on Neuropathic Pain: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis Alexandra Dimitrova, Charles Murchison, Barry Oken

2015 Journal of Acupuncture and Meridian Studies

Short-term acupuncture treatment is more effective than ibuprofen for mild to moderate carpal tunnel syndrome.

In our study, none of the patients treated with acupuncture developed complications, whereas five patients treated with ibuprofen had gastrointestinal side effects (we then used omeprazole); however, none of them withdrew from the study due to the adverse effects. Therefore, acupuncture is superior in safety as well.

The limitations of this study include the low number of treatment sessions in the group treated with acupuncture. If the number of treatment sessions were added, better therapeutic results may have been obtained.

Overall, it seems that acupuncture is a relatively uncomplicated and safe treatment option for patients with mild to moderate CTS and can improve symptoms and electrodiagnostic parameters.

Efficacies of Acupuncture and Anti-inflammatory Treatment for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Hadianfard M, Bazrafshan E, Momeninejad H, Jahani N.

2010 The Journal of Pain

A meta-analysis of acupuncture versus steroid block therapy favored acupuncture in terms of responder rate.

Our systematic review and meta-analysis demonstrate that the evidence for acupuncture as a symptomatic therapy of carpal tunnel syndrome is encouraging but not convincing. The total number of included RCTs and their methodological quality were low. Further rigorous studies are required to establish whether acupuncture has therapeutic value for this indication.

Acupuncture for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome: A Systematic Review of Randomized Controlled Trials Lee, H., Shim, H., Shin, B., Jung, A., Lee, M., & Ernst, E.