Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Approaches in Patients with Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

Aicha Zaralieva; Georgi P Georgiev; Vesselin Karabinov; Alexandar Iliev; Assen Aleksiev

doi:10.7759/cureus.7171

Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Approaches in Patients with Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

Cureus. 2020 Mar 3;12(3):e7171. doi: 10.7759/cureus.7171.

Authors

Aicha Zaralieva¹, Georgi P Georgiev², Vesselin Karabinov³, Alexandar Iliev⁴, Assen Aleksiev^{5

6}

Affiliations

¹ Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Queen Giovanna Hospital, Sofia, BGR.
² Orthopaedics and Traumatology, University Hospital Queen Giovanna, Sofia, BGR.
³ Neurology, National Cardiology Hospital, Sofia, BGR.
⁴ Anatomy, Histology and Embryology, Medical University of Sofia, Sofia, BGR.
⁵ Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Medical Univeristy of Sofia, Sofia, BGR.
⁶ Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Aleksandrovska University Hospital, Sofia, BGR.

Abstract

Physical therapy involves a set of factors and methods that affect the biological processes in the body. It is widely used, relatively inexpensive, non-invasive, and easy to apply. Physiotherapy is also used in the treatment of patients with carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS). This syndrome represents the most common compressive mononeuropathy of the upper limb and leads to significant disability. Hence, its successful treatment leads to significant benefits for both the patient and society. There is no established algorithm for the use of physical therapy in these patients. In this publication, we present the physiotherapeutic methods used for the treatment of CTS both before and after surgical treatment.

Keywords: carpal tunnel syndrome; physical therapy; treatment algorithm.

Publication types

Review