Could a simple tourniquet change cut Post-Surgery pain and opioid use?
NCT ID NCT04390425
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026
Summary
This study tests whether using a lower-pressure tourniquet during orthopedic surgeries can reduce pain and the need for opioid painkillers afterward. Standard tourniquets use high pressure, which can cause muscle weakness and pain. The experimental device sets pressure based on the patient's blood pressure plus a safety margin. Researchers are enrolling 400 adults undergoing common procedures like knee replacement or carpal tunnel release.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- Limb occlusion pressure tourniquet (device)
- What this could lead to
- If it works, this could offer a simple way to reduce pain and opioid use after common orthopedic surgeries.
- What could go wrong
- This is a mid-sized study testing a device modification, not a new drug. The benefit may be small or not apply to all surgeries.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
-
Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
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About 400 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Apr 2018
- Expected to finish
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Dec 2026
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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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
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18 years and older
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Accepted
You do not need to have the condition being studied to take part.
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Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: * The research team will test the central hypothesis that LOP tourniquets will decrease pain and opioid use and improve patients outcomes on healthy adults (above the age of 18) undergoing either open carpal tunnel release, open reduction internal fixation distal radius fracture, cubital tunnel release, trigger finger release, thumb CMC arthroplasty, anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction, or total knee replacements Exclusion Criteria: 1. Prescription pain medications for chronic conditions (\> 6 weeks) 2. Patients who cannot use a tourniquet:( ex. Certain patients with fistulas or PVD, certain patient with Peripheral Vascular Disease) 3. Prior trauma or surgery to the observed limb. 4. Hypotension or hypertension that prevents accurate distal photoplenthysmography probe reading.
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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
-
Houston Methodist Hospital
Houston, Texas, 77030, United States
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Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
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