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Evidence summaries

Splints for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

Nocturnal hand brace may improve symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome. Level of evidence: "C"

A topic in Clinical Evidence 1 summarizes the results of three small RCTs. One RCT (n=83) found that a nocturnal hand brace improved symptoms at 2 and 4 weeks compared to no treatment (Boston Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Questionnaire, 4 weeks: -1.07, 95% CI -2.01 to -0.13). One RCT (90 wrists) found no difference between neutral and 20° extension. One RCT (n=24) found no differenbe between full-time and night time only splint. Comment: Quality of evidence is downgraded by sparse data.

    References

    • Ashworth N. What are the effects of non-drug treatment? Carpal tunnel syndrome. Clinical Evidence 2005;13:1395-1404.

Primary/Secondary Keywords