A clinical study showed that injecting saline solution around the median nerve in the wrist, using ultrasound to guide the needle, may help alleviate carpal tunnel syndrome symptoms and sustain improvement for up to six months, potentially offering a minimally invasive treatment option without the need for cortisone.
Comparison of treatment methods
The US health news website HealthDay reported yesterday that researchers from the Mahatma Gandhi Medical College and Hospital in Jaipur, India, compared three treatment methods among patients who did not respond adequately to traditional treatments, with follow-up of results over six months. The study included 63 wrists in 39 patients and encompassed treatment methods of saline injection alone to release the nerve from surrounding tissues, saline injection combined with corticosteroids, and corticosteroid injection alone.
Long-term improvement results
Results published in the journal Radiology, issued by the Radiological Society of North America, showed improvement in all three groups four weeks after treatment. However, improvement persisted in the two groups that underwent hydrodissection, whether using saline alone or with cortisone. After 12 weeks and six months, symptoms returned in the group that received cortisone alone, while improvement continued in the other two groups. Adding cortisone to saline did not show a clear additional benefit in the long term.
Efficacy and complications
Ultrasound measurements also showed a 43 to 45 percent reduction in the cross-sectional area of the median nerve in patients who underwent hydrodissection, compared to about 15 percent in those who received cortisone alone, indicating greater reduction in nerve swelling in the first two groups. The procedure took approximately 15 minutes on average, with no notable complications recorded during the follow-up period and no hospital stay required, according to researchers. This method may represent a minimally invasive treatment option for some patients with mild to moderate cases, potentially helping to delay or avoid surgery in some patients, although confirming its efficacy requires further studies.
Source: Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA)
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