COMPARATIVE EFFECTIVENESS OF SPLINTING VERSUS CORTICOSTEROID INJECTION FOR MANAGING CARPAL TUNNEL SYNDROME IN PREGNANCY

Abstract

Background: Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is a common condition of nerve entrapment during pregnancy, especially during late pregnancy days because hormones and retention cause the syndrome. Despite the popularity of the treatment methods of wrist splinting and corticosteroid injection, there is little evidence comparing these treatments in pregnant women.

Objectives: To compare the efficiency of corticosteroid injection and wrist splinting in terms of their ability to relieve symptoms and enhance the functional outcomes in pregnant women with CTS.

Methods: Sixty pregnant women with CTS, admitted in the Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, Arif Memorial Teaching Hospital, Rashid Latif Medical College, Lahore., participated in this quasi-experimental study both control groups between January and July 2025 (n=30 in both control groups (splinting and corticosteroid injection)). At baseline and after 4 weeks, the severity of symptoms and functional scores were measured. It was done using independent t-test and Chi-square test, and p < 0.05 was taken as significant. Symptom severity and functional status were assessed using the Boston Carpal Tunnel Questionnaire (BCTQ) Symptom Severity Scale (SSS) and Functional Status Scale (FSS) at baseline and after 4 weeks.

Results: The majority of women were between 20 and 29 years (56.7%), and 70.0% of the respondents were at the third trimester. There were no differences in baseline symptom severity (p = 0.71). After 4 weeks, corticosteroid injection led to major improvement in symptom relief (1.9 ± 0.4 vs 2.6 ± 0.5; p < 0.001) and symptom improvement (2.1 ± 0.5 vs 1.3 ± 0.4; p

< 0.001). Injection was also the better method in functional recovery (1.9 + 0.5 vs 1.1 + 0.4; p

< 0.001) and clinical improvement was noted in 90.0 percent of the patients receiving injections as opposed to 70.0 percent of the patients receiving splinting (p = 0.04). No serious maternal or fetal adverse effects were observed in either group.

Conclusion: Corticosteroid injection has been shown to be better than wrist splinting with regard to short-term symptom improvement and functional recovery in expectant women with CTS.