Evaluation of Iontophoresis and Local Corticosteroid Injection in the Treatment of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

Abstract

Our study comparing a standardized treatment protocol for incorporating local corticosteroid injection and iontophoresis of dexamethasone sodium phosphate in carpal tunnel syndrome revealed success of both iontophoresis of dexamethasone sodium phosphate and injection of corticosteroids, but symptom relief was greater at 2 and 8 wks with injection of corticosteroids.

A systematic review of conservative treatment of carpal tunnel syndrome

“…O'Gradaigh and Merry 10 demonstrated equal results using high-and low-dose regimes of hydrocortisone injections (100 mg and 25 mg respectively). Gokoglu et al 11 compared local administration of steroids and steroid iontophoresis, finding an improvement in both groups after therapy as opposed to baseline, even though this improvement was higher in those receiving local steroid injections than those receiving steroid iontophoresis.…”

“…We identified seven studies with high methodological quality. 9,[11][12][13][14][15][16] These studies were performed using clinical, neurophysiological and patient-oriented measures. Moreover a statistical analysis over a wide sample was performed to evaluate the effects of the therapy.…”

Cochrane corner: local corticosteroid injection for carpal tunnel syndrome

“…No lasting clinical benefit has been found when comparing distal with proximal injection (Sevim, 2004), higher versus lower dosage of steroid (Habib et al, 2006; O’Gradiagh and Merry, 2000), longer versus shorter acting steroid (O’Gradiagh and Merry, 2000), two versus one injection (Wong et al, 2005), local steroid injection with Helium-Neon laser (Lucantoni et al, 1992) or local steroid injection with iontophoresis (Aygul et al, 2005; Gokoglu et al, 2005).…”

Effect of magnesium sulfate iontophoresis on myofascial trigger points in the upper fibres of the trapezius

“…For many years, iontophoresis has been used to treat oedema, hyperhidrosis, gout arthritis, functional infections, ischemic skin ulcers, and musculoskeletal conditions (such as carpal tunnel syndrome, tendinopathy, degenerative joint disease, and MPS). 9 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 Moreover, iontophoresis has been gaining popularity in MTrP management. Evans et al.…”