Treating carpal tunnel with a standardised massage protocol - 3.0
Research type
Research Study
Full title
A standardised massage protocol as an effective treatment for carpal tunnel syndrome.
IRAS ID
190813
Contact name
Michael Carlton
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Jing Institute of Advanced Massage Training
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 3 months, 0 days
Research summary
This study is being run in collaboration with Medway Maritime NHS Trust by a student of the Jing Institute of Advance Massage Training. This is to investigate the effect of a standardised clinical massage protocol on individuals with carpal tunnel syndrome.
Previous research has identified that a variety of manual therapy techniques can be effective in alleviating symptoms in patients with carpal tunnel syndrome (Elliot & Burket, 2013), (Bongi, 2013), (Fernandez-de-las Penas, 2015). The variation in the combination of techniques and approaches developed specifically for these studies has made it difficult to generalise results and thus impossible to develop an optimum treatment practice. This study aims to investigate the effects of a standardised clinical massage protocol on patients with carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS).
To be involved in the study participants must be aged over 18 with no history of upper limb surgery. Participants must have a clinical diagnosis of CTS with associated symptoms of pain, paraesthesia and/or hypoesthesia in the hand, in the area innervated by the median nerve. Results of the routine nerve conduction study (NCS) must also be available (regardless of correlation with clinical diagnosis).
The massage intervention used in the study will be a published protocol by Fairweather and Mari (2015). All participants within the study will receive the massage intervention, involving attending a clinic at Medway Maritime Hospital for weekly massage sessions over a 4-week period. Participants will also be taught self-massage techniques which they will perform daily and record via an adherence diary. The group will complete CTS pain questionnaires and quantitative pain scores, as well as specialist CTS orthopaedic tests, grip strength test and pinch strength test. These will be performed at the beginning of the study, at 4-weeks following the intervention, and at a 6-month follow up.
REC name
London - Hampstead Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
16/LO/0905
Date of REC Opinion
17 Jun 2016
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion