AN INNOVATIVE HAND BRACE FOR TREATMENT OF CARPAL TUNNEL SYNDROME (CTS): RESULTS OF A CONTROLLED STUDY

We recently noticed that squeezing the distal heads of metacarpal bones (excluding the first) and stretching the III and IV finger relieved paresthesias and pain in CTS (Manente et al. 1999). This manoeuvre was the rationale to design an innovative hand brace we called “MANU” (patented) and to design a trial to assess efficacy and tolerability. Forty patients with CTS symptoms and abnormal electrophysiological tests were instructed to wear MANU during the night for 1 month. Efficacy was assessed by the Levine scale the Subject's Global Impression of Change Questionnaire. Forty CTS patients served as control. In the MANU group, the Levine score was at the entry: 2.3 ± 0.6 and 1.5 ± 0.5 at the end of the study (p < 0.001). At 1 month 27 patients (67.5%) were free of symptoms or reported pronounced improvement, and 13 (32.5%) reported moderate or mild improvement. MANU was very well tolerated by all patients. In controls, Levine score was at entry 2.4 ± 0.6 and 2.3 ± 0.6 at the end (p = 0.6). At 1 month, 7 patients (17.5%) reported mild or moderate improvement (4 patients spontaneously, 3 after change or reduction of manual activities), 33 patients (82.5%) reported no change or worsened. This short-term study shows that MANU is highly efficient in ameliorating CTS symptoms and well tolerated.