Hand therapy plus gabapentin may ease carpal tunnel pain better than pills alone
NCT ID NCT06778798
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026
Summary
This study looked at whether adding a specific hand and arm therapy technique (called median nerve neural mobilization) to the pain medication gabapentin could reduce pain more than gabapentin alone in people with carpal tunnel syndrome. 72 adults with confirmed carpal tunnel syndrome took part. The main goal was to measure pain changes using a simple pain scale, and the study also checked how well the hand and arm functioned.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- gabapentin (oral capsules) and median nerve neural mobilization (manual therapy)
- What this could lead to
- If it works, this could point toward a more effective, non-surgical way to manage carpal tunnel pain by combining medication with physical therapy.
- What could go wrong
- This is a small, completed Phase 4 trial with only 72 participants, so results may not apply to everyone. The manual therapy technique requires a skilled practitioner, and gabapentin can cause side effects like dizziness or drowsiness.
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Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
-
Phase 4
Runs after approval, following long-term safety and how well the treatment works in everyday use.
- Participants
-
72 people
The number who actually took part.
- Started
-
Feb 2025
- Finished
-
Mar 2025
- Lead sponsor
-
Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
-
18 to 70 years
- Sex
-
Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
-
Accepted
You do not need to have the condition being studied to take part.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: * Participants must be medically diagnosed with unilateral carpal tunnel syndrome (with confirmative electrodiagnostic findings). * Full understanding of written and spoken Spanish (language). * Participants must freely consent to participate. * The presence of positive Phalen and Tinel signs. * The presence of carpal tunnel syndrome signs and symptoms Exclusion Criteria: * The lack to meet inclusion criterions, the presence of cognitive impairment, tumors, cancer, recent (affected) upper limb surgery or trauma, pregnancy, metabolic neuropathy, obesity (body mass index over 30), participants who are not employed, deformities of the (affected) upper limb, recent skin injuries or infections (in the affected upper limb), autoimmune inflammatory conditions or flu type symptoms, allergy to gabapentin, allergy to ibuprofen arginine, and also: participants must not be (during the present investigation) under any type of pain reducing treatment (conservative, homeopathic, invasive or not invasive)
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
Contacts and locations
Locations
-
Ciudad Hospitalaria Enrique Tejera
Valencia, Carabobo, 02001, Venezuela
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Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
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