Hyperthermia As A Conservative Treatment For Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. A Randomized "Sham" Controlled Trial

Hyperthermia As A Conservative Treatment For Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. A Randomized "Sham" Controlled Trial

Hyperthermia As A Conservative Treatment For Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. A Randomized "Sham" Controlled Trial

The purpose of this study is to verify the short-term effects of hyperthermia (HT) in pain relief and in functional impairment in patients affected by mild to moderate idiopathic carpal tunnel syndrome. A single blind randomized sham-controlled trial was performed. A 23 patients were affected by idiopathic CTS, 11 of them were affected by bilateral CTS. the intervention consists of Hyperthermia device treatment, treated for 20 minutes per session, a total of 8 sessions. Primary outcome is pain (Visual analogic scale).

Background: Non-surgical treatment is generally administered to patients with mild to moderate symptoms. Many of these treatments used heat modality. Hyperthermia is a relative recent device which produces deep heating. Objective: The purpose of this study is to verify the short-term effects of hyperthermia (HT) in pain relief and in functional impairment in patients affected by mild to moderate idiopathic carpal tunnel syndrome. Design: A double blind randomized sham-controlled trial. Setting: Outpatient physical therapy, institutional clinic. Participants: 23 patients were affected by idiopathic CTS, 11 of them were affected by bilateral CTS. Intervention: Hyperthermia (HT) device treatment, treated for 20 minutes per session, a total of 8 sessions. Measurement: Primary outcome is pain (Visual analogic scale). Secondary outcomes were self-reported pain intensity and physical functioning questionnaire (Levine/Boston), ultrasonographic (median nerve cross sectional area mnCSA) and neurophysiological data.

All patients were treated for 8 sessions, twice a week, for a total of 4 weeks of treatment. All patients were evaluated at baseline (T0) and after 4 weeks (T1). The first two sessions were sham-treatment for both groups

Secondary outcomes were self-reported pain intensity and physical functioning questionnaire (Levine/Boston), ultrasonographic (median nerve cross sectional area (mnCSA) and neurophysiological data

Inclusion Criteria: Bilateral or unilateral mild to moderate carpal tunnel syndrome confirmed by clinical and neurophysiological tests, with no indication to surgical intervention. All patients were grouped into first, second and third classes according to Historic and Objective (Hi-Ob)15 scale of CTS and minimum, mild CTS according to the neurophysiological classification of Padua1 Exclusion Criteria: Secondary entrapment neuropathies (diabetes, systemic disease) Cancer, pregnancy Electroneurographic and clinical signs of axonal degeneration of the median nerve.