The Wrist / Hand
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome / Dupuytren’s Contracture
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
Carpal tunnel syndrome is one of the most common repetitive strain injuries (RSI) in today’s modern world.
CTS can severely impact one’s Activities of Daily Living (ADL): Numbness, pain, and weakness in the wrist and hand.
Waking up at night due to pain, numbness and tingling (called paresthesia). Difficulty opening jars, car doors, carrying things, certain exercise positions (i.e. push-ups or downward dog pose in yoga).
Carpal tunnel syndrome is a ‘nerve entrapment syndrome’. Here’s where it gets interesting though - the common orthopedic approach is to look at or treat only at the wrist; that’s a mistake.
Without taking into consideration what’s called ‘the double crush phenomenon’ – meaning, there are two areas of irritation occurring along the course of the nerve: one at the wrist, but also one upstream where the nerves originate – at the cervical spine – this is where the nerves exit the neck and head toward the shoulder and then down the arm. This is critical for successful treatment outcomes.
Now with the addition of SoftWave, the potential for much more rapid and thorough healing, carpal tunnel syndrome is much better treated and resolved.
With SoftWave TRT’s ability to reduce inflammation and rebuild all the involved tissues – nerves, ligaments, cartilage – this debilitating condition can be treated and healed very efficiently, and without the risks associated with (a) corticosteroid injections (see study cited directly below); (b) surgery.
‘OBJECTIVE: Local corticosteroid (CS) injection has been widely used to treat carpal tunnel syndrome, but its invasiveness can cause several complications. In this study, the authors tested the efficacy of a new treatment method, extracorporeal shock wave therapy (ESWT), compared with CS injection.
‘RESULTS: NSWT can be as useful as CS injection for relieving symptoms of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. Furthermore, in contrast to CS injections, it has a merit of being noninvasive.’
Hyun S, et al. The Effectiveness of Extracorpeal Shock Wave Therapy vs. Local Steroid Injection for Management of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
A Randomized Controlled Trial American Journal of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation 2013; 92(4):p 327-334. [read article]
Take care of yourself. Do what’s right. Using SoftWave TRT for healing/repairing carpal tunnel syndrome is an opportunity that shouldn’t be overlooked. The research is solid in it’s clinical benefits and with no adverse effects.
SoftWave increases blood supply, decreases inflammation, restores tissue elasticity, and stimulates endogenous growth factor activation, and migration of resident stem cells resulting in new tissue growth - and a healed, pain-free wrist and hand.
‘A significantly greater improvement in the VAS, BCTQ scores, and CSA of the median nerve was noted in the intervention group throughout the study as compared to the control group. This is the first study to assess ESWT in a randomized placebo-controlled trial and demonstrate that ESWT is a safe and effective method for relieving pain and disability in patients with CTS.’
Wu, Y-T, et al. Effect of radial shock wave therapy for carpal tunnel syndrome: A prospective randomized double-blind, placebo-controlled trial Journal of Orthopaedic Research 2015; 34(16): p 977-984. [read article]
Dupuytren’s Contracture
Dupuytren’s Contracture is a progressive condition where the connective tissue just under the skin in the palm of the hand becomes fibrotic and contracted, ultimately leading to a ‘deformity’ of sorts where the involved tissue ‘pulls’ a finger inward, creating a ‘deformity’ of sorts.
Common in people of Northern European descent
Affects 4%-6% of Caucasians worldwide
Occurs three times more in men than women
In many patients, due to the deformity of the finger(s), Dupuytren’s contracture can limit their daily activities and quality of life.
The unique tissue healing mechanisms cause by SoftWave ESWT works very well in reducing contracture and increasing function.
‘Considering the results, the trend of pain severity of patients was continuously and significantly decreasing up to 14 weeks, which implies the effectiveness of the intervention. Moreover, the patients’ functional status improved due to the continuation of the intervention.’
Taheri P, et al. The effect of shock wave therapy on improving the symptoms and function of patients with Dupuytren’s contracture. Advance Biomedical Research 2022; 11(1):3 [read article]
SoftWave treatment:
In-office treatment is about 10
The results are long-lasting
The treatment area is determined through history, palpation, X-ray findings, and diagnosis.
Ultra sound gel is used over the treatment area
The quantity and intensity can vary depending on the indication.
Treatment usually consists of four to six sessions over 4 weeks.
No adverse effects
Importantly, SoftWave has the unique benefit of ‘diagnostic mapping’ - using the shock wave pluses to identify the area of injury/inflammation that requires treatment.