Efficacy of the Interferential Laser Therapy in Pain Reduction in Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

Status

Completed

Phases

Phase 2

Study type

Interventional

Source

ClinicalTrials.gov

Registry ID

NCT01093209

Enrollment

100

Registered

2010-03-25

Start date

2010-02-28

Completion date

2011-04-30

Last updated

2011-06-28

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, Neuropathic Pain

Keywords

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, Interferential laser therapy, Low-level laser therapy, Neuropathic pain, Median nerve compression

Brief summary

The purpose of this study is to determine the efficacy of the interferential laser therapy in the wrist and hand pain and disability reduction and force improvement in the carpal tunnel syndrome. Subjects are patients diagnosed of carpal tunnel syndrome who have been prescribed laser therapy. Settings: Ramon y Cajal Hospital. Department of Rehabilitation. Physical therapy unit. Electrotherapy section. Occupational Therapy. Department of Neurology.

Detailed description

The spatiotemporal superposition of two independent and opposite beams of laser generates a constructive interference pattern that increases the therapeutic effects in the irradiated tissue. Patient suffering pain from diagnosed carpal tunnel syndrome will receive conventional or interferential laser therapy. This is a comparative randomized and double blind clinical study. Two identical lasers in near infrared range will be used. Frequency of sessions: daily. Irradiated technique: manual, contact and punctual. Pain will be evaluated by visual analog scale at rest and during analytical wrist movement. Disability will be evaluated by the DASH and BOSTON questionnaire. Evaluation will take place at pre and post-treatment times.

Interventions

DEVICEInterferential Laser Therapy

PROCEDURE: Interventional group: Two independents and identical probes. Energy dose per point and per probe: 5 J. Continuous emission. Treatment time:8 minutes. Sessions: 10. Frequency of the sessions: daily. Irradiation technique: handily, in contact and at 7 points over distal pathway of median nerve.Control group: Sham laser:650 nm.Scanning mode.Outpout power:1 mW.

Study design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Intervention model

PARALLEL

Primary purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

DOUBLE (Subject, Outcomes Assessor)

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

ALL

Age

18 Years to 80 Years

Healthy volunteers

Inclusion criteria

* Patients diagnosed of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome by means of an Electromyography Study. * Patients with or not previous surgery. * Patients with an age of 18 years or older. * Patients having a signed informed consent.

Exclusion criteria

* Patients with severe hand traumatisms. * Patients with cervical radiculopathy. * Patients with Outlet Thoracic Syndrome. * Patients bearing osteo syntheses material. * Patients suffering tumoral pathology.

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame	Description
Visual Analogue Scale (VAS)	5 minutes	Visual Analogue Scale during wrist analitical movements.

Secondary

Measure	Time frame	Description
Disability Arm Shoulder and Hand questionnaire (DASH)	15 minutes	—
Boston Carpal Tunnel Questionnaire	5 minutes	—
Dinamometry	5 minutes	Power grip and pinch grip.

Countries

Spain

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026