Ultrasound treatment for carpal tunnel syndrome

BMJ 1998;317:601 ( 29 August )

Letters

Ultrasound treatment for carpal tunnel syndrome

Emphasis must be on return of sensation and function

Author's reply

Emphasis must be on return of sensation and function

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

EDITOR $---$ I find Ebenbichler et al's paper on ultrasound treatment for carpal tunnel syndrome alarming.¹ In my clinical practiceas a hand surgeon I see many patients who are permanently disabledby end stage carpal tunnel syndrome: their loss of sensation inthe radial digits causes major functional problems with activitiesof daily living. When treated they eventually become pain freebut lose median nervefunction.

Surgical treatment is simple and gives good or excellent return of sensation in 80-85% of patients. The cost of 20 physiotherapysessions is roughly the same as that of surgical release underlocal anaesthesia, and the duration of recovery is alsosimilar.

The emphasis on symptom relief and the short follow up mean that this study is less useful than it might have been. If non-operativemethods of treatment of carpal tunnel syndrome are to be assessedthen the emphasis must be on return . . . [Full text of this article]

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Relevant Article

Ultrasound treatment for treating the carpal tunnel syndrome: randomised "sham" controlled trial: Gerold R Ebenbichler, Karl L Resch, Peter Nicolakis, Günther F Wiesinger, Frank Uhl, Abdel-Halim Ghanem, and Veronika Fialka
BMJ 1998 316: 731-735. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

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Robertson, V. J (2007). On "A survey of therapeutic ultrasound..." Wong et al. Phys Ther. 2007;87:986 994.. ptjournal 87: 1559-1559 [Full text]
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Rapid Responses:

Read all Rapid Responses

Varying Degrees of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome: Erik Dombroski
bmj.com, 28 Sep 1998 [Full text]
Treatment for carpal tunnel syndrome: P Thomas Davis
bmj.com, 1 Oct 1998 [Full text]
Emphasis must be on return of sensation and function: Luca Padua
bmj.com, 21 Oct 1998 [Full text]