Courtesy ABC News
The pain and numbness caused by carpal tunnel syndrome results in the highest number of days lost among all work-related injuries. New research finds that surgery to relieve these symptoms is sometimes more effective than non-surgical treatment and should be recommended to those who do not find relief from these other treatments.
Carpal tunnel syndrome occurs when inflammation in the wrist presses on the major nerve of the hand and causes chronic pain, numbness, and tingling in the wrist, hand, and fingers. Carpal tunnel often affects those whose work requires repetitive hand motions, such as typing, and is a major cause of work-related disability.
A new study compared treating this syndrome with surgery with non-surgical hand therapy and ultrasound. When researchers examined patients a year later, they found that those who had undergone surgery had modestly better outcomes in hand function and symptom reduction than those who had not.
Because the difference between surgical and non-surgical outcomes was modest, researchers point out that some patients may prefer to try non-surgical treatments before taking on the potential risks of surgery. However, for those who have had little relief from hand therapy and ultrasound treatments, researchers felt that surgery should be recommended.
