Acupuncture can help carpal tunnel
DEAR DOCTOR: Could acupuncture help my carpel tunnel syndrome?
DEAR READER: Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is caused by compression of the median nerve within the wrist, specifically in an area called the carpal tunnel. The symptoms include pain or numbness that radiates to the first three fingers of the hand. The sensations can awaken patients at night or strike when they’re doing certain activities. When the median nerve is significantly compressed, a person can develop weakness in the thumb and fingers and have difficulty even holding a cup. Wrist splints, physical therapy, NSAIDs and steroids can initially address the condition, while surgery is often recommended for severe cases. But only recently has acupuncture been studied for carpal tunnel syndrome.
A 2017 U.S. study divided 79 carpal tunnel patients into three treatment groups: one group that received acupuncture with electrical stimulation against traditional points near the wrists; another group that used sham acupuncture (meaning at random points); and a last group that used acupuncture with electrical stimulation against traditional points, but in an area far from the wrists. Each group had 16 treatments over eight weeks.
The authors found a greater improvement of symptoms with the use of traditional wrist acupuncture and electrical stimulation versus those who had sham acupuncture. They also found improvements in nerve conduction using the acupuncture with electrical stimulation against both local and distant points. What was most interesting about this study was that the authors showed how acupuncture in traditional, and not sham, acupuncture points caused brain changes on functional MRIs, which correlated with a decrease in symptoms of CTS.
If you have mild to moderate carpal tunnel syndrome, it certainly seems worth considering acupuncture in addition to wrist splints at night and physical therapy. However, more studies are needed to solidify this recommendation.