Does Taking an Alpha-lipoic for 40 days after Carpal Tunnel Release decrease the likelihood of developing Pillar Pain?

Filippo, B., Granchi, D., Roatti, G., Merlini, L., Sabattini, T., & Baldini, N. (2017). Alpha-lipoic acid after median nerve decompression at the carpal tunnel: A randomized controlled trial. The Journal of Hand Surgery, 4, 236–42.

The Skinny – A double-blind, randomized controlled study was performed. Sixty-four patients were randomly assigned into two groups after median nerve decompression. Thirty-two patients took the alpha-lipoic acid (ALA), while the other 32 received the placebo pill. 

pillar pain

In The Weeds – The outcome measures utilized were Boston Carpal Tunnel score, 2-point discrimination, presence or absence of pillar pain, use of analgesics beyond post-op day 2, and sensory and motor conduction velocities.   These measures were assessed at three months post-op. 

Bringing it Home –  ALA did not significantly improve nerve conduction velocity or Boston Carpal Tunnel score. Taking ALA did reduce pillar pain, and static 2-point discrimination improved in both groups. 

Taking ALA for 40 days after carpal tunnel surgery can lower the incidence of Pillar Pain.   The study size was relatively small, and the outcome measures of pain and two-point discrimination test are somewhat subjective measures. The ALA treatment (pillar pain treatment) was well tolerated by the study participants. A larger study is needed to confirm these findings. 

Leave a Comment






More To Read

Distal radius fracture types seen in the hand therapy clinic 

July 17, 2022

Distal radius fractures are one of the most common injuries seen in hand therapy. Several different distal radius fracture classification systems have been developed, and this blog post will focus on the more common types of distal radius fractures and their classification.   Extra-articular fractures are either nondisplaced or displaced fractures. These fractures occur outside…

Hand Therapy Marketing 101

July 28, 2019

Marketing 101 – 5 Tips for Your Therapy Clinic Confession: I hate marketing. It’s my least favorite part of my job. It is so hard to open yourself up to that much rejection but still stay positive. It feels like the professional version of blind dating, except the other person probably already has a significant…

Which is better: Splinting the MCP or PIP joint when managing Trigger Finger?

June 2, 2019

Teo, S. H., Ng D. C., Wong, Y.K.(2018).  Effectiveness of proximal interphalangeal joint blocking orthosis vs metacarpophalangeal joint blocking orthosis in trigger digit: A randomized clinical trial. Journal of Hand Therapy, 1-7. The Skinny- This study compared PIP joint immobilization via an Oval-8TM with a custom MCP blocking trigger finger orthosis treatment.  In the Weeds…

Dorsal Scapular Nerve Entrapment and Thoracic Pain

January 22, 2023

Don’t Forget to Evaluate for Dorsal Scapular Nerve Entrapment By Delaney Wright If your patient presents with any upper thoracic pain, it is critical to take measures to evaluate for dorsal scapular nerve entrapment. In a study completed by Sultan et al. (2013), 55 patients with interscapular pain were evaluated clinically and via nerve conduction…

Envelope_1

Sign-up to Get Updates Straight to Your Inbox!

Sign up with us and we will send you regular blog posts on everything hand therapy, notices every time we upload new videos and tutorials, along with handout, protocols, and other useful information.