Effects of Cervical Manual Therapy Versus Conventional Physical Therapy on Clinical Outcomes in People With Carpal Tunnel Syndrome: A Study Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial

Abstract BackgroundCarpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is the most common entrapment neuropathy. A recent systematic review described limited or no evidence about the conservative interventions. Literature has expressed that more proximal area such as the cervical spine is involved in CTS. Therefore, the aim of this study is to examine the effects of combination cervical manual therapy and conventional physical therapy on pain, self-reported function, and electrophysiological findings in the management these patients.MethodsThis study will be a double-blind, parallel-group, randomized, controlled trial (RCT) in which carpal tunnel syndrome subjects randomize to either conventional or combined exercise groups. The conventional group take routine physical therapy treatments, while patients in combine exercise group receive cervical manual therapy plus routine physical therapy treatments. All patients receive 10 sessions of supervised intervention. The outcome measures included visual analogue scale (VAS), Boston Carpal Tunnel and DASH questionnaire, motor distal latencies and sensory nerve conduction velocity of median nerve. They obtain pre- and post-intervention. DiscussionThe findings of this study will provide knowledge about the comparison effectiveness of conventional physical therapy with and without cervical manual therapy on symptom severity, functional status, disability, velocity and latency median nerve in patients with CTS.Trial registrationIranian Registry of Clinical Trials, IRCT20201201049565N1. Registered on 15 December 2020.