The Effect of Shock Wave and Phonophoresis in the Improvement of the Clinical Symptoms and Function of Patients with Mild to Moderate Carpal Tunnel Syndrome: A Clinical Trial

Carpal tunnel syndrome is a common condition that causes pain, sensory and motor symptoms in the hands, especially in the thumb, index, and middle fingers due to the compression of the median nerve in the carpal tunnel. The purpose of this research was to investigate the effect of the shock wave and phonophoresis in the improvement of clinical symptoms and function of patients with mild to moderate carpal tunnel syndrome.

The present research has employed a double-blind randomized clinical trial on 60 patients in Isfahan, Iran. Patients were randomly divided into 3 treatment groups of shock, phonophoresis, and control, and all patients received conservative treatments. Wrist thermoplastic splint, vitamin B1, and celecoxib were prescribed for all patients. The shock group received their intervention in four sessions of shock once a week for 4 weeks. Patients in the phonophoresis group received phonophoresis (pulse 1:4) 15 minutes every other day for 2 weeks. Pain scores were assessed based on the visual analog pain scale, and the Boston questionnaire severity scale was completed for each patient before, 1 and 2 months after the intervention. The used analytic tests included Fisher's exact tests, 1-way analysis of variance, and repeated measures analysis.

Shock wave and phonophoresis showed a significant decrease in pain, symptom severity index (p<0.001), and functional status (p<0.001). This reduction was more persistent in the phonophoresis group.

The use of noninvasive shock wave and phonophoresis methods were good alternatives in the treatment of carpal tunnel syndrome.