Researchers at the University Medical School and Research Hospital in Ankara, Turkey have found that acupuncture given to patients with carpal tunnel syndrome, reduces symptom severity as well as swelling of the median nerve. A total of 45 arms belonging to 27 female patients, were randomly allocated to either an acupuncture or control group. All patients used a wrist splint at night. In addition, the acupuncture group received treatment two to three times a week for four weeks, giving ten sessions in total.
Symptom severity, hand function and electromyographic measurements improved in both groups, but the acupuncture group exhibited significantly higher improvements. Further, the cross-sectional area of the median nerve, which can increase due to swelling, significantly decreased in the acupuncture group; there was no change in the control group.
(The Acupuncture Effect on Median Nerve Morphology in Patients with Carpal Tunnel Syndrome: An Ultrasonographic Study. Evidence-Based Complementary & Alternative Medicine, 6 June 2017.)