Efficacy of dietary supplement with nutraceutical composed combined with extremely-low-frequency electromagnetic fields in carpal tunnel syndrome.
Teresa Paolucci, Giulia Piccinini, Sveva Maria Nusca and 6 others
PMID 29950763WHAT IT FOUND
In carpal tunnel syndrome, adding a nutraceutical to electromagnetic-field therapy did not improve pain or symptoms more than placebo with the same electromagnetic-field therapy.
Both groups improved after treatment; the nutraceutical group still reported improvement at 3 months.
Key findings
01There was no significant between-group difference in pain, Boston Carpal Tunnel Questionnaire symptom severity or function after treatment or at follow-up.
02In the group receiving the nutraceutical plus electromagnetic-field therapy, pain, symptom severity and function improved significantly from baseline after treatment and remained significantly improved at follow-up.
03In the group receiving placebo plus electromagnetic-field therapy, pain, symptom severity and function improved significantly after treatment, but the follow-up changes were not significant.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTs
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What it does not show
Only 31 patients were studied, so a small real difference between the groups could be missed. The groups were not balanced for hand-work jobs: 8 of 16 patients in the nutraceutical group had hand work, compared with 14 of 15 in the placebo group. Both groups received electromagnetic-field therapy, so the trial cannot separate the supplement's effect from the electromagnetic-field treatment or from improvement that may occur anyway. Nerve conduction tests were not repeated at the 3-month follow-up, so objective nerve changes later were not checked. The supplement was given for only 1 month, and the authors note that a longer course may be needed. The study did not measure biochemical levels of the supplement, so it cannot link any effect to absorption or metabolism.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest. The paper also describes the study as unfunded.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude the supplement works because its group reported improvement at 3 months. The between-group comparison was not significant, and both groups received electromagnetic-field therapy. The supplement's added effect cannot be separated.