Assessing the efficacy of medical vs surgical approaches for treating carpal tunnel syndrome: Systematic review

Abstract

Background: Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is the most common peripheral nerve entrapment syndrome that is caused by compression of the median nerve at the wrist joint causing variety of signs and symptoms. There are several measures to treat CTS including surgical and non-surgical approaches. Objectives: this systematic review aims to compare and evaluate the efficacy of conservative (non-surgical) and surgical approaches in treatment of CTS. Methods: Using predefined keywords related to this condition, an extensive search of medical databases, including PubMed and Cochrane library, was carried out to find and select randomized controlled clinical trials evaluating the effects of conservative treatment compared to surgical treatment released up to August 2023. The quality of the included research was rigorously evaluated, and data were extracted. After reviewing pertinent papers for relevance and quality, data was gathered for analysis. Key outcome measures included pain reduction and functional improvement