title: The effectiveness of conservative treatments of carpal tunnel syndrome: splinting, ultrasound, and low-level laser therapies.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The objective of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of splinting, ultrasound (US), and low-level laser (LLL) in the management of carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS).
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  CTS is the entrapment mononeuropathy most frequently seen in clinical practice, caused by compression of the median nerve at the wrist. Although several treatment modalities are routinely in use, there is no consensus about the best way to manage CTS.
  
  
  METHODS
  In our study, patients were randomly allocated to three groups that received the following treatment protocols: splinting only, splinting plus US, and splinting plus LLL therapy. Patients were assessed with the Boston Questionnaire, patient satisfaction inquiry, visual analogue scale for pain, and electroneuromyography.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The study was completed with a total of 100 hands of 50 women patients with bilateral CTS at 3 mo after treatment. At the end of the follow-up period, each of the groups had improvements to varying degrees. It appeared that the combinations of US or LLL therapy with splinting were more effective than splinting alone in treating CTS. However, LLL therapy plus splinting was more advantageous than US therapy plus splinting, especially for the outcomes of lessening of symptom severity, pain alleviation, and increased patient satisfaction.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Gulhane Military Medical Academy, Haydarpasa Training Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey.
authors.forename: Umit
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Dincer
authors.forename: Engin
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Cakar
authors.forename: Mehmet Zeki
authors.initials: MZ
authors.lastname: Kiralp
authors.forename: Hilmi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kilac
authors.forename: Hasan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Dursun
mesh_terms: D002349:Carpal Tunnel Syndrome / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D028022:Low-Level Light Therapy; D008875:Middle Aged; D009431:Neural Conduction; D010147:Pain Measurement; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013165:Splints; D014464:Ultrasonic Therapy