Key Findings
Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is one of the major debilitating diseases of the hand and one of the most common causes patients visit orthopedics and rheumatology clinics. Several studies have reported the anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and analgesic effects of flaxseed oil which is also beneficial for arthritis and some skin lesions. This study is a randomized clinical trial that examines the effectiveness of flax seed oil gel versus hand splint, for carpal tunnel syndrome. The results showed that for 48 affected patients with the clinical and electrodiagnostic diagnosis of mild to moderate idiopathic carpal tunnel syndrome, topical application of flax seed oil gel, twice a day for 3 weeks, was more effective than a hand splint for short-term reduction of symptoms and functional improvement. Although the hand splint is one of the most effective and well-known treatments of mild to moderate carpal tunnel syndrome, the study results showed that the therapeutic effects of the topical gel of flax seed oil exceed the ones of the splint.
ABSTRACT
This study compared the therapeutic effect of flax seed oil topical gel and hand splint in the treatment of carpal tunnel syndrome. This study was a randomized clinical trial. Forty-nine patients, 96 hands, with mild to moderate idiopathic carpal tunnel syndrome were divided into 2 groups randomly. One group was treated by topical gel and the other group by hand splint. Intensity of symptoms and function before and after intervention was measured via Boston Carpal Tunnel Questionnaire. After intervention, the ANCOVA showed a significant difference between the symptom and function scores of the 2 groups. In both cases, recovery was higher in the gel group (P < .001). The topical use of flax seed oil gel is more effective in the improvement of symptoms and function of patients with mild to moderate carpal tunnel syndrome as compared with hand splint, and it can be introduced as an effective treatment.
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