Conservative treatment of carpal tunnel syndrome: an outcome study of adjunct exercises.

We conducted a prospective study to evaluate the effect of a new non-surgical protocol for treating carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS). It incorporates the Carpal Tunnel Decompression Exercise Program (Exercise Program) into conventional non-surgical treatment. Twenty-eight patients (33 hands) met the inclusion criteria and were followed for 18 months. The outcome measurement tools used were the Symptom Severity Scale (SSS) and the Functional Status Scale (FSS). The outcome tools were administered at admission and repeated at 1, 2, and 18 months after admission to the treatment program. Using the adjunct treatment, 80% of the hands in the mild category and 71% in the moderate category were successfully treated without surgery. All patients in the severe category required surgery. The average success rate of our adjunct non-surgical treatment protocol was 67%, a substantial improvement over the 18% to 34% success rate reported nationally for conventional treatment methods. Furthermore, improvement in the outcome of carpal tunnel syndrome by the adjunct non-surgical treatment can result in significant savings in human suffering, medical cost, lost work time, and socioeconomic distress.