Insights & Discussion
Acupuncture's effectiveness for carpal tunnel syndrome uncovers better pain relief compared to night splints and potential benefits when used alongside other treatments
Acupuncture was found to be more effective than night splints for pain relief, but no differences were observed in symptom severity and functional status. When used alongside other treatments, acupuncture showed potential in improving various CTS factors. However, the evidence quality was generally low or very low.
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Electroacupuncture treatment for carpal tunnel syndrome was reported to be effective and showed a significant difference from the control group.
2022 Journal of Acupuncture Research Electroacupuncture for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome: A Review of Randomized Controlled Trials Park CW, Lim MJ, Lee SW, Yi YH, Song DW, Yu SG, et al.
Systematic Review Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
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.
Acupuncture may be effective and safe for short-term pain reduction and functional improvement in hand-and-wrist conditions.
2022 Medical Acupuncture 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
Systematic Review Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
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.
Acupuncture can be used for carpal tunnel syndrome treatment without serious adverse effects.
2021 Journal of Pharmacopuncture Effect of Manual Acupuncture for Mild-to-Moderate Carpal Tunnel Syndrome: A Systematic Review Huh JH, Jeong HI, Kim KH
Systematic Review Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
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.
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.
2020 Neuropediatrics Acupuncture and electroacupuncture in the treatment of carpal tunnel syndrome: Systematic review Badia M, Santafé MM
Systematic Review Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
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.
For both symptom relief and function improvement, manual acupuncture is superior to ibuprofen for carpal tunnel syndrome.
2019 Clinical Rehabilitation Acupuncture and related interventions for carpal tunnel syndrome: systematic review Wu IXY, Lam VCK, Ho RST, Cheung WKW, Sit RWS, Chou LW, et al.
Systematic Review 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.
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