Assessment of the effectiveness of two different physiotherapy procedures in the conservative treatment of carpal tunnel syndrome

The aim of this study was to compare the effects of two different physiotherapy procedures using pulsed electromagnetic field (M) and a combined therapy consisting of laser biostimulation (L) and pulsed electromagnetic field (M) in the treatment of patients with carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS). Forty patients with the diagnosis of idiopathic CTS were included into the study. Clinical assessment, including pain severity rating on the VAS scale, the presence of paresthesia and functional tests, was conducted at the following stages: before treatment, after the first series, after a two-week break between series, after the second series and six months after the end of treatment. Both series of sessions were performed daily on weekdays for a period of 10 days. All patients were assigned to two groups: group I (20 patients, 33 hands) treated with M and group II (20 patients, 34 hands) treated with M and L therapy. In both groups, after the first and second series of treatment, a reduction in pain severity, the number of patients with day and night pain and with positive functional tests was observed. Six months after treatment an improvement in pain reduction and functional tests was statistically significant in the second group. Our findings confirm that both treatment procedures should be applied at least in two series, while the greatest efficacy was observed immediately after the second series. The therapeutic effect was maintained for six months after the end of treatment. The combination of L and M treatment seems to be more effective than M therapy.