Can a plastic bracelet ease painful wrists?

ApLAstic wristband offers a novel way to treat the pain of carpal tunnel syndrome, which affects more than a million people in the UK. the device works by pulling skin and soft tissue towards it, thereby easing pressure on the nerve that causes symptoms.

in a small pilot study, patients who wore the band for around ten hours a day reported their symptoms improved significantly, with results comparable to those seen with surgery.

now a larger trial is under way in the U.s.

carpal tunnel syndrome occurs when the median nerve, which runs into the base of the hand, becomes trapped or compressed at the wrist as it passes through the carpal tunnel — a narrow passage in the wrist made up of small bones and connective tissue.

When the nerve is compressed, it can lead to pain, tingling or numbness in the hand, and limited movement.

in most cases, the cause is unknown, although factors such as family history, and conditions such as diabetes and pregnancy, seem to increase the risk, possibly because of soft tissue swelling.

treatments include antisymptom inflammatory drugs or splints to hold the wrist in a position to reduce pain, hand exercises and steroid injections, or surgery to release the pressure on the nerve.

however, in many cases, the relief is only temporary.

the new device, known as WristAid, is designed to ease pressure on the nerve without surgery.

it consists of a curved piece of rigid plastic that fits the shape of the wrist with an adhesive patch that is placed over the carpal tunnel area.

the combination of the two is thought to pull the soft tissue towards the device, widening the carpal tunnel beneath, thereby reducing compression and irritation.

A small study involving 11 patients, reported in the journal physical Medicine and Rehabilitation last year, found that the device improved symptoms significantly — on a scoring system, patients reported an average improvement of 1.2 points after eight weeks.

For comparison, other studies have found the improvement with surgery is between 0.8 and 1.5 points after three months.

A larger trial with more than 100 patients is now under way at the cleveland clinic and the Mission pain & spine institute, both in Ohio in the U.s., where the Wrist-Aid is being compared to a placebo device.

commenting on the patch, greg packer, a consultant orthopaedic surgeon at spire Wellesley and southend University hospital, says: ‘it does sound very plausible and it would merit further evaluation and study.

‘i would be very interested in trialling it.’

MeAnWhiLe, a single treatment with shockwaves can ease symptoms of carpal tunnel, according to a new study in the journal BMc Musculoskeletal Disorders.

in the study, 25 patients underwent a single session of shockwave therapy, where sound waves were delivered to the wrist from a handheld device, or steroid injections.

Results show there was a significantly greater improvement in symptom severity and movement in the shockwave group compared to the patients who had the jabs after three months and six months, reported researchers at chiang Mai University in thailand.

the exact mechanism for how shockwave therapy helps is not clear.