Corticosteroid Injection Eases Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

Filed in archive Cases , Studies , Treatment on April 25, 2007

The most effective non-surgical remedy for carpal tunnel syndrome is local injections of corticosteroid, according to Shawn Marshall, M.D., a specialist in physical medicine and rehabilitation at the University of Ottawa.

Caused be repetitive stress, carpal tunnel syndrome is irritation of the nerve that passes from the wrist to the hand by way of the carpal tunnel, with most common symptoms being frequent pain and numbness in the fingers. Severe cases can cause permanent loss of feeling and partial paralysis in the thumb.

In an updated review of studies on carpal tunnel syndrome treatment led by Dr. Marshall found that a single corticosteroid injection in the wrist can offer at least a month of relief to people suffering from this severe condition.

• a single local corticosteroid injection provided clinical improvement in symptoms at one month when compared to a single systemic injection.


• patients showed significant improvement in less than one month after receiving a local corticosteroid injection when compared to receiving a placebo


• greater improvement among those who received the local injection as long as three months after treatment compared to oral corticosteroid

The said review appears in the current issue of The Cochrane Library.

Find more details from the full report.