Therapeutic ultrasound for carpal tunnel syndrome
PainSci summary of Page 2013?This page is one of thousands in the PainScience.com bibliography. It is not a general article: it is focused on a single scientific paper, and it may provide only just enough context for the summary to make sense. Links to other papers and more general information are provided at the bottom of the page, as often as possible. ★★★☆☆?3-star ratings are for typical studies with no more (or less) than the usual common problems. Ratings are a highly subjective opinion, and subject to revision at any time. If you think this paper has been incorrectly rated, please let me know.
An inconclusive but just barely encouraging review of “only poor quality evidence from very limited data” from 11 trials of ultrasound for carpal tunnel syndrome. Garbage in, garbage out!
original abstract†Abstracts here may not perfectly match originals, for a variety of technical and practical reasons. Some abstacts are truncated for my purposes here, if they are particularly long-winded and unhelpful. I occasionally add clarifying notes. And I make some minor corrections.
AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS: There is only poor quality evidence from very limited data to suggest that therapeutic ultrasound may be more effective than placebo for either short- or long-term symptom improvement in people with CTS. There is insufficient evidence to support the greater benefit of one type of therapeutic ultrasound regimen over another or to support the use of therapeutic ultrasound as a treatment with greater efficacy compared to other non-surgical interventions for CTS, such as splinting, exercises, and oral drugs. More methodologically rigorous studies are needed to determine the effectiveness and safety of therapeutic ultrasound for CTS.
related content
- “The effectiveness of therapeutic ultrasound for musculoskeletal conditions of the lower limb: A literature review,” Pippa Shanks, Michael Curran, Paul Fletcher, and Richard Thompson, Foot (Edinb), 2010.
- “Therapeutic ultrasound for osteoarthritis of the knee or hip,” Anne Ws Rutjes, Eveline Nüesch, Rebekka Sterchi, and Peter Jüni, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 2010.
- “Effect of therapeutic ultrasound on tendons,” Wen-Chung Tsai, Sf-T Tang, and Fang-Chen Liang, Am J Phys Med Rehabil, 2011.
- “Therapeutic ultrasound for acute ankle sprains,” Michel Pj van den Bekerom, Daniëlle Awm van der Windt, Gerben Ter Riet, Geert J van der Heijden, and Lex M Bouter, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 2011.
- “Therapeutic ultrasound for chronic low-back pain,” Safoora Ebadi, Nicholas Henschke, Noureddin Nakhostin Ansari, Ehsan Fallah, and Maurits W van Tulder, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 2014.
- “The efficacy of therapeutic ultrasound for rotator cuff tendinopathy: A systematic review and meta-analysis,” François Desmeules, Jennifer Boudreault, Jean-Sébastien Roy, Clermont Dionne, Pierre Frémont, and Joy C MacDermid, Physical Therapy in Sport, 2015.
One article on PainScience.com cites Page 2013 as a source:
- PS Does Ultrasound Therapy Work? — Many concerns about the widespread usage of therapeutic ultrasound, especially extracorporeal shockwave therapy (ESWT)
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