This study will be conducted to investigate the effect of acupressure on carpal tunnel syndrome in pregnant women.
The pregnant women are more prone to develop carpal tunnel syndrome because they retain more fluid during the later stages of their pregnancies. The more fluid retained , the more swelling occurs , squeezing the nerves that run through the hand and finger. Also most women who experience pain, numbness and tingling in the hand for the first time due to pregnancy have no idea that they have carpal tunnel syndrome. Given the importance of treating CTS and preventing the limitations caused by this syndrome, and since it can turn into a debilitating disease if left untreated, acupressure can be recommended as a safe and noninvasive technique for reducing the severity of clinical symptoms. Till now, there is no previous studies explored the effect of acupressure on carpal tunnel syndrome in pregnant women. So, this study will be conducted to provide new information about the efficacy of acupressure in management of carpal tunnel syndrome in pregnant women, which will help such pregnant women to overcome this problem and will add new evidence to the field of physical therapy.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
DOUBLE
Enrollment
50
The pregnant women will receive acupressure on the (Pc-6/Lung-7 )acupoints one minute for each point with 3 repetitions on both side( about 30minutes /session),2 times per week in addition to advices for 12 weeks.
The pregnant women will receive advices for 12 weeks as follows: * Avoid heavy lifting. * Avoid repetitive tasks. * Sit on chairs with armrests and elevate affected hand on the armrest * Avoid sleeping on the side of the affected hand. * Keep the wrist in a neutral (straight) position. * Avoid positions of full flexion and extension. * Reduce general swelling by: * eating less salty food . * elevating legs when sitting . * wearing compression garments. * Apply cold water over the wrist.
Assessment of pain severity
The pain intensity will be assessed for all participants in both groups before and after treatment through VAS. It is a 10 cm horizontal line on which the participant's pain intensity will be represented by a point between the extremes of "no pain at all" and "worst imaginable pain". Each participant will be asked to mark a point on a VAS line between the extremes that related to her current pain intensity
Time frame: 12 weeks
median nerve conduction study
Computerized Electromyography (Dantce): ATOENINIES neuro screen system will be used to perform median nerve conduction study before and after the treatment program for all participants in both groups
Time frame: 12 weeks
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