Splinting and local steroid injection for the treatment of ulnar neuropathy at the elbow: Clinical and electrophysiological evaluation
Objective: To compare the effects of splinting alone in the treatment of ulnar nerve lesion at the elbow with the effects of applying a local steroid injection in addition to splinting. Design: Twelve nerves of 10 patients were randomly assigned into two groups: 5 nerves in Group A were treated with...
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Published in | Archives of physical medicine and rehabilitation Vol. 77; no. 6; pp. 573 - 577 |
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Main Authors | , , , , |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
New York, NY
Elsevier Inc
01.06.1996
Elsevier |
Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
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Summary: | Objective: To compare the effects of splinting alone in the treatment of ulnar nerve lesion at the elbow with the effects of applying a local steroid injection in addition to splinting.
Design: Twelve nerves of 10 patients were randomly assigned into two groups: 5 nerves in Group A were treated with elbow splinting only; 7 nerves in Group B were treated with local steroid injection in addition to splinting. Therapeutic effects were assessed 1 and 6 months after treatment.
Setting: Patients were selected from an outpatient clinic of a VA Medical Center.
Patients: Ten patients (12 nerves) with ulnar neuropathy at the elbow confirmed by electrodiagnostic tests.
Interventions: Elbow splint was given to patients of both Groups A and B. A single dose of 40mg triamcinolone plus 1 mL of 1% lidocaine was injected around the ulnar nerve at the elbow of Group A patients.
Main Outcome Measures: Clinical evaluation of symptoms and signs, and ulnar motor and sensory nerve conduction studies were performed before, 1 month after, and 6 months after treatment.
Results: There was significant improvement in symptoms in both groups at 1 and 6 months after treatment. Ulnar motor nerve conduction velocity across the elbow improved at 1 month in Group A only, but showed improvement at 6 months in both groups. There was no significant change in the other parameters either at 1 or 6 months in both groups. In comparing the differences between Groups A and B regarding the changes at 1 or 6 months after treatment, there was no significant difference between the two groups in all parameters.
Conclusions: Splint application alone is adequate to improve the symptoms and ulnar nerve conduction across the elbow. The addition of a steroid injection did not provide further benefit in the treatment of cubital tunnel syndrome. |
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Bibliography: | ObjectType-Article-2 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-1 ObjectType-News-3 content type line 23 |
ISSN: | 0003-9993 1532-821X |
DOI: | 10.1016/S0003-9993(96)90297-X |