Osteopathic Manipulative Treatment and Carpal Tunnel Syndrome: Analysis of Pathogenesis, Mechanism of Treatment and Applicability to Specific and General Populations

Abstract

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS) represents the most common nerve compression syndrome. Osteopathic Manipulative Therapy (OMT) may be more efficacious in certain populations secondary to demographic variability in CTS etiology and OMT‟s greater efficacy in addressing certain causations. A composite score derived from subjective and objective findings in a pilot study, was utilized to assess initial and change of disease severity after OMT in the study population and these subgroups: age, gender, ethnicity, BMI and chronicity. Trends suggest more severe disease in older patients, women, and whites. OMT results in improvement in composite scores in younger subjects, females, whites, both non-obese and obese subjects and more chronic subjects.