Cubital tunnel syndrome is the second most common compression neuropathy. In severe cases, functional recovery, even with surgery, is often poor. Therefore, alternative adjunct treatments capable of increasing the speed of nerve regeneration are much needed.
The effect of brief conditioning electrical stimulation on nerve regeneration has been showed to be efficacy in animal studies. In this double-blind, randomized, controlled study, the investigators will compare the physiological and functional improvements post surgery compared with the controls who received surgery alone. Because electrical stimulation is reasonably well-tolerated and the treatment only takes an hour, it is a potentially feasible clinical tool for patients with severe nerve injury.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
DOUBLE
Enrollment
30
Patients with cubital tunnel syndrome will receive either surgery and sham stimulation, or conditioning electrical stimulation 7 days prior to surgery
University of Alberta
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
RECRUITINGMotor unit number estimation
A quantitative physiological measure of the number of motor nerve fibres in the target muscle
Time frame: 3 years
Key pinch strength
A functional measure of the ulnar intrinsic hand muscles using a dynamometer
Time frame: 3 years
Disability of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand (DASH) Questionnaire
A questionnaire to quantify the severity of motor and sensory symptoms
Time frame: 3 years
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