ArticleJournal of pain research2026
Ultrasound-Guided Low-Level He-Ne Laser Therapy Following Acupotomy Release for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome: A Multicenter Retrospective Study.
Article in Journal of pain research, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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Abstract
Background: Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is a common compressive neuropathy associated with pain, sensory disturbance, and functional impairment. Although corticosteroid injection is widely used as an adjunctive treatment for minimally invasive decompression, steroid-related adverse effects limit its clinical application in some patients. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of ultrasound- guided low-level He-Ne laser therapy following acupotomy release as a steroid-sparing treatment strategy for CTS. Methods: This multicenter retrospective study included 163 patients with CTS who underwent one of the following treatments: ultrasound-guided acupotomy combined with low-level He-Ne laser therapy group (ALG, n=54), acupotomy combined with corticosteroid injection group (ACG, n=55), or acupotomy release group (AG, n=54). Pain intensity was assessed using the Visual Analog Scale (VAS), and functional outcomes were evaluated using the Boston Carpal Tunnel Questionnaire (BCTQ). Electrophysiological and ultrasonographic parameters of the median nerve were also analyzed before and after treatment. Adverse events were recorded during follow-up. Results: All three groups showed significant improvements in pain, functional outcomes, electrophysiological findings, and imaging parameters after treatment (P<0.05). Compared with the AG, both the ALG and ACG demonstrated significantly greater reductions in VAS and BCTQ scores at 1, 4, and 16 weeks after treatment (P<0.05). No significant differences in VAS scores were observed between the ALG and ACG during follow-up. Improvements in electrophysiological and ultrasonographic outcomes were also more pronounced in the ALG and ACG than in the AG. No serious complications were observed in any group. Steroid-related hyperglycemia occurred in six patients in the ACG, whereas no laser-related adverse events were reported in the ALG. Conclusion: Ultrasound-guided low-level He-Ne laser therapy combined with acupotomy release significantly improved pain, function, and nerve recovery in CTS patients. Its therapeutic efficacy was comparable to corticosteroid injection while avoiding steroid-related adverse events, suggesting that it may represent a promising steroid-sparing treatment strategy.
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