Effectiveness of Ultrasound Plus Nerve Gliding Exercise with and without Low-level Laser Therapy in Patients with Moderate Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

Abstract

Introduction: Although carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is an incident entrapment neuropathy disorder, there has been inadequate evidence about the effect evaluation of adding low-level laser therapy to ultrasound (US) plus median nerve glide exercises in these patients. Hence, this research investigated the trace of US plus median nerve glide exercises with and without low-level laser therapy (LLLT). Materials and Methods: Thirty-six patients with moderate CTS in two groups of intervention were assessed. One group received 10 sessions of adding LLLT to median nerve glide exercises plus US and the other group received median nerve glide exercises plus US without LLLT. Outcome measures were hand grip strength (HGS), visual analogue scale (VAS), Boston questionnaire (BQ), and cross-sectional area (CSA) of the median nerve. Results: Baseline analysis revealed similarities between the two groups in all parameters. Statistical analysis indicated significant improvement of HGS, VAS, BQ, and CSA of the median nerve in two groups of intervention. Conclusion: In patients with CTS, US and median nerve glide exercises with and without LLLT significantly improved without the superiority of adding LLLT to mentioned treatment.

Keywords

• Carpal tunnel
• Ultrasonic therapy
• Nerve mobilization
• Low-level laser therapy
• Cross-sectional study