Injections just as good as surgery for carpal tunnel
New research suggests that steroid injections may be just as effective as surgery for long-term relief from carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) and may be even more effective than surgery for short-term relief from CTS, according to Ergoweb.com.
The study, published in the February 2005 issue of Arthritis and Rheumatism, followed 163 wrists belonging to more than 100 patients who had experienced CTS symptoms for at least three months, particularly extreme nighttime tingling and burning in their hands and fingers sufficient to disrupt sleep. Eighty of the wrists received the standard surgical procedure of decompression of the median nerve, while the remaining 83 wrists received local steroid injections. After 14 days, 69 of the previously injected wrists were injected again. Duration, severity and patient age were similar among both the surgery and steroid injection groups.