The Effectiveness of Radial Extracorporeal Shock Waves for Treatment of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome: A Randomized Clinical Trial

Comparison of single-dose radial extracorporeal shock wave and local corticosteroid injection for treatment of carpal tunnel syndrome including mid-term efficacy: a prospective randomized controlled trial

“…In our study, the pain relief benefit of rESWT appeared to begin at week 12 and to continue through week 24 compared to baseline, while LCsI initially provided statistically insignificant pain reduction which disappeared entirely by week 24. Compared to previous studies, the effect of pain reduction from session rESWT seemed to begin earlier in our study [ 21 , 31 , 32 ]. In terms of symptom severity and functional outcomes, with single-dose rESWT significant improvement compared to the baseline began at week 4, while the LCsI group had significant improvement at only week 1.…”

“…This differs from Wo et al which reported an earlier effect of session rESWT for symptom and functional improvement beginning at week 1 [ 21 ]. The differences in pain, symptom and functional improvement of single dose rESWT in our study compared to session rESWT in others studies might be the result of differences in the method of rESWT (single vs. session) as well as the effect of wrist splinting in the other studies (single-dose rESWT vs. session rESWT+wrist splinting) [ 21 , 31 , 32 ].…”

“…Single-dose rESWT, which has a carry-over effect lasting up to 24 weeks, showed significant improvement in terms of clinical symptoms and functional recovery compared to LCsI from weeks 12 to week 24. Most previous studies have conducted the final follow up at week 12 or week 14 [ 20 – 22 , 32 , 33 ]. The methodology evaluated in this study showed the efficacy of single-dose rESWT in the absence of any other confounding treatment, e.g., the wrist splints used in combination with rESWT in other studies [ 21 , 22 , 31 , 32 , 34 ].…”

“…Most previous studies have conducted the final follow up at week 12 or week 14 [ 20 – 22 , 32 , 33 ]. The methodology evaluated in this study showed the efficacy of single-dose rESWT in the absence of any other confounding treatment, e.g., the wrist splints used in combination with rESWT in other studies [ 21 , 22 , 31 , 32 , 34 ]. This study used mixed-model analysis of repeated measures to analyze differences between treatments which can detect the effect of time on the results of treatment while other cohort studies have used the Mann-Whitney U test [ 20 , 21 ] and the independent t-test [ 31 , 32 ].…”

Timing of extracorporeal shock wave therapy in rabbits with carpal tunnel syndrome

“…The characteristics of the radial type are less penetration from the skin, less focusing of the energy to the target spot, and lower intensity than the focused type (Wu et al, ). The focused type requires accurate target identification, whereas the radial type means does not because the shock wave disperses eccentrically from the applicator (Raissi et al, ). One systemic review described the advantages of the radial type over the focused type, including the larger treatment area, no requirement for accurate targeting, no need for additional local anesthesia, and lower cost (Chang, Chen, Chen, Tu, & Chien, ).…”