Traditional Korean Medicine Therapy for Treating Carpal Tunnel Syndrome in Patients with Wrist Pain: A Systematic Review^※

Abstract

Objectives : This study aims to evaluate current clinical evidence of traditional Korean medicine treatment on wrist pain with carpal tunnel syndrome. Methods : Ten Korean databases were searched for prospective clinical trials of traditional Korean medicine therapy on wrist pain with carpal tunnel syndrome from the time of their inception to February, 2015. Studies conducted in Korean, Chinese and English were searched. Risk of bias in included non-randomized controlled trials was assessed by the Cochrane handbook procedure. Results : Four non-randomized controlled trials were included. A high risk of bias was observed in all trials. All of the included studies reported favorable effects being experienced by an intervention group compared to a baseline or control group. Included studies never described any occurrence of adverse events. Conclusions : There is no evidence that traditional Korean medicine treatments are effective for treating wrist pain associated with carpal tunnel syndrome. All of the included studies lacked appropriate methodological qualities and internal validity. Future well-designed clinical trials that evaluate the effects and safety of traditional Korean medicine treatment for patients with carpal tunnel syndrome are needed.

Effect of Manual Acupuncture for Mild-to-Moderate Carpal Tunnel Syndrome: A Systematic Review

“…In Korea, SRs have evaluated Korean medical treatments, including acupuncture, for CTS [ 11 , 14 - 17 ]. However, these SRs included interventions such as pharmacopuncture [ 14 ], electroacupuncture [ 11 , 16 , 17 ], laser acupuncture [ 15 , 16 ], TENS [ 17 ], moxibustion [ 17 ], and TDP lamp [ 17 ] with MA. However, the effectiveness of MA as monotherapy has not been verified yet.…”

“…Korean studies of acupuncture for CTS include a randomized control trial (RCT) that compared the effectiveness of Sweet Bee Venom pharmacopuncture to that of Scolopendrid pharmacopuncture, case reports of pharmacopuncture (CA; Scolopendrid , Carthmi-Flos , and Sweet Bee Venom, along with Jungsongouhyul and Hwangryunhaedok-tang pharmacopunctures) and acupotomy, and papers on acupuncture-based treatment [ 12 , 13 ]. Systematic reviews (SR) of Korean medical treatments, including acupuncture, for CTS were conducted [ 11 , 14 - 17 ]. However, these SR interventions included pharmacopuncture [ 14 ], electroacupuncture [ 11 , 16 , 17 ], laser acupuncture [ 15 , 16 ], TENS [ 17 ], moxibustion [ 17 ], TDP lamp [ 17 ], and manual acupuncture (MA), and the effectiveness of MA alone has not yet been verified.…”

“…Systematic reviews (SR) of Korean medical treatments, including acupuncture, for CTS were conducted [ 11 , 14 - 17 ]. However, these SR interventions included pharmacopuncture [ 14 ], electroacupuncture [ 11 , 16 , 17 ], laser acupuncture [ 15 , 16 ], TENS [ 17 ], moxibustion [ 17 ], TDP lamp [ 17 ], and manual acupuncture (MA), and the effectiveness of MA alone has not yet been verified. The recent Korean Medicine Utilization and Herbal Medicine Consumption Survey [ 18 ] showed that Korean medical treatment (multiple responses) mainly comprised acupuncture (excluding pharmacopuncture; 93.5%), followed by moxibustion (48%) and pharmacopuncture (22.1%).…”