Diadynamic Current and Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

January 15, 2026 updated by: Duzce University

Investigation of the Effectiveness of Diadynamic Current in Patients With Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS), first described by Paget in 1854, is the most common entrapment neuropathy. Conservative treatment approaches are prioritized in patients with mild to moderate CTS. Conservative management includes education, tendon and median nerve gliding exercises, physical therapy modalities, kinesiotaping, manual therapy techniques, injection options, and oral medical treatments. First-line treatment generally consists of education, exercise, and splinting.

Tendon and median nerve gliding exercises represent key components of conservative treatment. Splinting is recommended at all stages of CTS, with wrist splints designed to maintain a neutral position being the most commonly preferred option. The prevailing approach in the literature supports the use of splints primarily during nighttime.

Diadynamic current (DDC) is considered to have a composite analgesic mechanism, primarily explained by the gate control theory. Additional mechanisms suggest that DDC affects both sensory and motor nerves and may increase endorphin release, contributing to pain relief. A single treatment session typically does not exceed 12 minutes. Some studies indicate that the analgesic effect of DDC may be greater than that of transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS). Although TENS is widely used in physical therapy and rehabilitation practice, DDC may represent a realistic alternative for clinical pain management.

The aim of the study is to evaluate the effect of diadynamic current therapy on clinical symptoms in patients with CTS and to investigate its impact on electrophysiological findings of the median nerve.

Study Overview

Status

Active, not recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

80

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

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

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Clinically and electrophysiologically diagnosed with carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS)
  • Provision of informed consent
  • Age between 18 and 65 years

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Age below 18 years or above 65 years
  • Median nerve distal motor latency > 6.0 ms on nerve conduction studies (NCS)
  • Thenar muscle atrophy
  • History of carpal tunnel syndrome surgery
  • History of steroid injection into the carpal tunnel
  • History of physical therapy for CTS within the past 6 months
  • Cervical radiculopathy
  • Tenosynovitis in the ipsilateral upper extremity
  • Other compressive neuropathy in the ipsilateral upper extremity
  • Peripheral polyneuropathy
  • History of trauma or fracture involving the hand, wrist, or forearm
  • Pregnancy
  • Presence of metabolic disease
  • Inflammatory rheumatic disease
  • Acute and/or chronic renal failure
  • Severe cognitive impairment preventing understanding and following simple instructions
  • Severe visual or hearing impairment preventing participation in treatment
  • Current use of pregabalin or gabapentin
  • Systemic diseases (e.g., diabetes mellitus, hypothyroidism, rheumatic diseases)

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: Non-Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Group 1: Diadynamic Current Plus Splint

Diadynamic current (DDC) is a routine physical therapy modality applied in the physical medicine and rehabilitation clinic to reduce symptoms in various conditions. In individuals with carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS), splinting is routinely prescribed as a first-line conservative treatment. In addition, physical therapy modalities such as DDC are applied in cases where adequate benefit is not achieved with splint therapy alone.

Since splinting is provided as the initial conservative treatment in routine clinical practice, no delay or loss of treatment time occurs. Individuals receiving splint therapy are informed about DDC treatment, and those providing consent for 10 physical therapy sessions are allocated to the DDC group.
Procedure: Diadynamic Current

Diadynamic current (DDC) is a routine therapeutic modality applied in the physical medicine and rehabilitation clinic to alleviate symptoms in various conditions. In individuals with carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS), DDC is routinely administered in cases where sufficient benefit is not achieved with splinting and transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS).

For this purpose, diadynamic current is applied to the palmar surface of the hand and the volar surface of the forearm using equal-sized carbon electrodes (6 × 6 cm). A sequence of different types of diadynamic currents is administered for a total duration of 10 minutes as follows: diphase fixe (DF) for 2 minutes, monophase fixe (MF) for 3 minutes, longues périodes (LP) for 3 minutes, and courtes périodes (CP) for 2 minutes.

The treatment duration, parameters, and sequence of diadynamic currents are based on Bernard's current methodology and are identical to the procedure described by Ratajczak et al.
Active Comparator: Group 2: Splint-Only Group
In individuals with carpal tunnel syndrome, splinting is routinely prescribed as a first-line conservative treatment.
Procedure: Diadynamic Current

Diadynamic current (DDC) is a routine therapeutic modality applied in the physical medicine and rehabilitation clinic to alleviate symptoms in various conditions. In individuals with carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS), DDC is routinely administered in cases where sufficient benefit is not achieved with splinting and transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS).

For this purpose, diadynamic current is applied to the palmar surface of the hand and the volar surface of the forearm using equal-sized carbon electrodes (6 × 6 cm). A sequence of different types of diadynamic currents is administered for a total duration of 10 minutes as follows: diphase fixe (DF) for 2 minutes, monophase fixe (MF) for 3 minutes, longues périodes (LP) for 3 minutes, and courtes périodes (CP) for 2 minutes.

The treatment duration, parameters, and sequence of diadynamic currents are based on Bernard's current methodology and are identical to the procedure described by Ratajczak et al.

Procedure: Wrist Splint
In individuals with carpal tunnel syndrome, splinting is routinely prescribed as a first-line conservative treatment. A resting wrist splint extending from the distal forearm to the hand and maintaining the wrist in a neutral position is provided to both groups. The splint is worn every night before bedtime, maintained throughout the night, and removed in the morning upon waking.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Change from Baseline in Boston Carpal Tunnel Questionnaire Symptom Severity Scale Score
Time Frame: Baseline and 6 weeks
Boston Carpal Tunnel Questionnaire - Symptom Severity Scale (BCTQ-SSS) is a patient-reported outcome measure assessing symptom severity in individuals with carpal tunnel syndrome. Scores range from 1 to 5, with higher scores indicating worse symptom severity.
Baseline and 6 weeks
Change from Baseline in Boston Carpal Tunnel Questionnaire Functional Status Scale Score
Time Frame: Baseline and 6 weeks
Boston Carpal Tunnel Questionnaire - Functional Status Scale (BCTQ-FSS) assesses functional status and difficulty in daily activities in individuals with carpal tunnel syndrome. Scores range from 1 to 5, with higher scores indicating worse functional status.
Baseline and 6 weeks
Change from Baseline in Hand Grip Strength (kg)
Time Frame: Baseline and 6 weeks
Hand Grip Strength was measured using a Saehan SH5001 Hydraulic Hand Dynamometer and recorded in kg. Higher values indicate greater grip strength.
Baseline and 6 weeks
Change from Baseline in Pinch Grip Strength (kg)
Time Frame: Baseline and 6 weeks
Pinch Grip Strength was measured using a Saehan SH5005-1 Mechanical Pinch Gauge and recorded in kg. Higher values indicate greater pinch strength.
Baseline and 6 weeks
Electrophysiological Assessment-Median Distal Motor Latency
Time Frame: Baseline and 6 weeks

Median distal motor latency was evaluated using nerve conduction studies (NCS) performed at the Electromyography Laboratory of the Department of Neurology, Düzce University Faculty of Medicine. Measurements were recorded in milliseconds (ms).

Electrophysiological carpal tunnel syndrome was defined as median distal motor latency ≥ 4.0 ms.
Baseline and 6 weeks
Electrophysiological Assessment- Median Sensory Nerve Conduction Velocity
Time Frame: Baseline and 6 weeks

Median sensory nerve conduction velocity was evaluated using nerve conduction studies (NCS) performed at the Electromyography Laboratory of the Department of Neurology, Düzce University Faculty of Medicine. Measurements were recorded in meters per second (m/s).

Electrophysiological carpal tunnel syndrome was defined as median sensory nerve conduction velocity ≤ 40 m/s.
Baseline and 6 weeks
Electrophysiological Assessment-Median-Ulnar Sensory Peak Latency Difference
Time Frame: Baseline and 6 weeks

Comparative median-ulnar sensory peak latency analysis was performed using fourth-digit recordings with wrist stimulation during nerve conduction studies (NCS). Measurements were recorded in milliseconds (ms).

Electrophysiological carpal tunnel syndrome was defined as median sensory peak latency from the fourth digit exceeding ulnar latency by ≥ 0.4 ms.
Baseline and 6 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

Duzce University

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

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)

April 21, 2025

Primary Completion (Actual)

December 15, 2025

Study Completion (Estimated)

April 1, 2026

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

December 23, 2025

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

January 15, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

January 21, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

January 21, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

January 15, 2026

Last Verified

January 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • Decision No: 2025/69

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

UNDECIDED

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

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.

Clinical Trials on Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS)

Clinical Trials on Diadynamic Current

Search Similar Trials

Sponsors and Collaborators

Medical Conditions

Drug Interventions

CROs by country

CROs in India

Conditions

Rare Diseases

Drug Interventions

Dietary Supplements

Sponsor/Collaborators

Locations

Subscribe