Local injections with botox ameliorated symptoms and alleviated pain in more than 50% of the participants in the study

Sep 27, 2006 13:09 GMT  ·  By

A recent study conducted by Taiwanese experts at The Neurological Institute, Taipei Veterans General Hospital and National Yang-Ming University found that botox shots are not only beneficial in reducing wrinkles, they are also very efficient in reversing symptoms of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS.)

In a pilot study, conducted by the scientists in Taiwan, local injections with botulinum toxin type A (botox) were found to work against carpal tunnel pains and weakness experienced by people who do repetitive movements of the hand and wrist. For instance, people whose job is to type all day-long, people who use the computer's mouse for long periods of time, people who work on assembly lines etc.

The study was carried out on 5 carpal tunnel patients, middle-aged women who had been suffering from the syndrome for more than 1 year. The team administrated botox shots in the carpal tunnel of the participants in the study. Results showed that the symptoms of the annoying syndrome were eased after 3 months in 3 of the participants, 1 participant showed no improvement, while 1 experienced more serious pains from the local injection.

In conclusion, administrating botox into one's carpal tunnel is not risk-free and may bring about side-effects. But further trials are still needed to clarify the effect of wrinkle-banishing substance on carpal tunnel syndrome sufferers. Taking into account the fact that more than 50% of the subjects in the study benefited from the botox shots, maybe a new type of treatment based on botox can be developed in the years to come.

Leader of the research Dr. Ching-Piao Tsai from The Neurological Institute stated: "This is the first positive study to describe the efficacy of Botulinum toxin type A for the relief of CTS." He also added that the study "may have been confounded by the placebo effect of intracarpal injection."