Muscle energy technique versus active release technique on motor functions in patients with carpal tunnel syndrome

Introduction Carpal tunnel syndrome is the most common median nerve neuropathy, accounting for 90% of all neuropathies, with prevalence in the general UK adult population ranging from 7–16% and bilateral symptoms reported in more than 50% of all cases. The pathophysiological mechanisms involved in the median nerve compression and traction are thought to be complex. This study compared the effectiveness of muscle energy technique and active release technique in patients with carpal tunnel syndrome. Methods This study involved a total of 30 male and female patients with carpal tunnel syndrome, aged between 30 and 50 years. The patients were randomly assigned to two equal groups, group A and group B. Group A received muscle energy technique, and group B received active release technique. Results Independent one-tailed t-tests revealed that the intragroup comparisons showed statistically significant increases in pinch grip strength and motor nerve conduction velocity of the median nerve post-treatment in group A (P=0.001 and 0.0001 respectively), while in group B, there were statistically significant increases in pinch grip strength and motor nerve conduction velocity post-treatment (P=0.037 and 0.043 respectively). The intergroup comparisons showed statistically significant differences in favour of group A. Conclusions Because there was little significant difference between the two groups, this study concluded that both treatment techniques were effective in increasing median motor nerve conduction and hand grip strength. However, muscle energy technique increased motor nerve conduction velocity and pinch grip muscle strength more than active release technique.