Clinical Massage Therapy as a Treatment for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

February 27, 2018 updated by: Jing Advanced Massage Training

A Standardised Massage Protocol as an Effective Treatment for Chronic Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

Once participants have been recruited, their grip strength shall be tested and they will all complete baseline questionnaires to assess functional status and symptom severity.

Following the recruitment stage, participants will be asked to attend Medway Maritime Hospital once a week for four weeks, to receive the massage protocol. At the first session participants shall be asked to rate their pain (NPRS), before receiving a massage treatment. This will be followed by instructions on how to perform self-massage, which they will be asked to complete daily over the four-week period, and record in a diary. At the remaining three sessions, participants shall just complete the NPRS prior to receiving the massage treatment.

After four weeks the group will be reassessed at the same Orthopaedic Clinic they attended prior to recruitment. They will be asked to complete a final pain score, record any changes in their condition, repeat the initial symptom questionnaire, and finally preform a grip strength test. The duration of four weeks was chosen as this is the time-frame within which the specific massage protocol advises a 'significant symptom improvement' should be seen.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Intervention / Treatment

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

6

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

    • Kent
      • Gillingham, Kent, United Kingdom, ME7 5NY
        • Medway Maritime Hospital

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Aged 18 years or above.
  • Pain paraesthesia and/or hypoesthesia in the hand, in the area innervated by the median nerve.
  • Participants must have a clinical diagnosis of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS).
  • Participant must be able to comply with the study procedures.
  • Participant must have attended the Medway Maritime Hospital (Kent), for assessment of the present condition.
  • Participant is willing and able to give informed consent for participation in the study.
  • Participant must not be contra-indicated for the receipt of massage.
  • Participants must be able to speak and read English fluently.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Participants who are receiving any additional treatment for their carpal tunnel pain that is not part of standard care (topical pain relief, bracing).
  • Participants that have had any surgery on the anatomical sites relevant to the condition and/or treatment (neck, shoulder, arm, wrist, hand).
  • Participants that have any suggestion of an additional condition related to carpal tunnel pain (i.e. previous trauma, pregnancy, etc).
  • Planning to undertake any activities or lifestyle changes which may affect their levels of carpal tunnel pain (e.g. changing/ceasing occupation, alternative symptom therapy, adopting/ceasing a hobby).

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: N/A
  • Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Other: Clinical Massage Therapy

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Time Frame
Number of participants experiencing improvements in the symptoms of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome as assessed by the Boston Carpal Tunnel Questionnaire (BCTQ), change from baseline in the symptom severity scores at 4 weeks.
Time Frame: 4 weeks.
4 weeks.

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

December 1, 2016

Primary Completion (Actual)

August 1, 2017

Study Completion (Actual)

August 1, 2017

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

February 26, 2016

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

March 7, 2016

First Posted (Estimate)

March 11, 2016

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

February 28, 2018

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

February 27, 2018

Last Verified

February 1, 2018

More Information

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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