Wrist traction device relieves carpal tunnel pain

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Wrist traction device relieves carpal tunnel pain

Last Updated: 2004-02-13 14:23:20 -0400 (Reuters Health)

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A new device that temporarily places the

wrist in " traction " holds promise as a treatment for the painful carpal

tunnel syndrome, researchers report.

Carpal tunnel syndrome occurs when one of the nerves that pass through

the wrist becomes compressed. Symptoms included numbness, weakness,

tingling and pain in the fingers and hand.

There are several non-surgical treatments for carpal tunnel syndrome,

including wrist splints and steroid injections. The new wrist traction

device was studied in 30 people who had mild to moderate carpal tunnel

syndrome, by a team led by Dr. M. Repice of the Delaware Valley

Pain and Rehabilitation Center in Chester, Pennsylvania.

Repice is one of the developers of the device. [http://www.wristrac.com]

The device applies traction forces to relieve pressure on the median

nerve by acting on the joints and soft tissues in the wrist, according

to a report in January's issue of the American Journal of Pain

Management.

During the first 4 weeks of the study, participants wore the device for

10 minutes twice a day. For the next 4 weeks, they wore it once a day.

No other treatments for carpal tunnel syndrome were allowed during the

study.

Most of the people in the study reported symptom relief within two

weeks, Repice's team reports. One of the first symptoms to improve was

waking up during the night, followed by a lessening of numbness and

tingling.

At the end of the study, results of a test of nerve function that is

used to diagnose carpal tunnel syndrome were normal in 50 percent of

participants and near normal in another 33 percent.

The results suggest that the wrist traction " promises to be an

appropriate, safe and effective conservative treatment of

mild-to-moderate carpal tunnel syndrome, " Repice and his colleagues

conclude.

Since the device is portable and can be used at home, it should be more

convenient for patients than treatments that must be performed in office

visits, the authors note.

However, the study did not include a placebo group of people who

received sham treatment. Placebo-controlled trials are considered the

gold standard for testing the effectiveness of medical treatments.

American Journal of Pain Management, January 2004.

I'll tell you where to go!

Mayo Clinic in Rochester

http://www.mayoclinic.org/rochester

s Hopkins Medicine

http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org