Loading...
Local steroid injection is one of several common treatments for carpal tunnel syndrome. Some practitioners have suggested that injecting steroids just proximal to the carpal tunnel is a viable alternative to injecting into the carpal tunnel, as it might reduce the likelihood of nerve injury. To test the effectiveness of proximal injection, Dutch investigators performed a randomized, double-blind trial.
Thirty patients received an injection of methylprednisolone proximal to the carpal tunnel, and 30 received placebo; all 60 received lidocaine as well. Patients were evaluated at 1, 3, 6, 9, and 12 months after injection. At 1 month, 23 intervention patients and 6 controls had no symptoms or only minor symptoms; at 12 months, the numbers were 1…