Carpal tunnel: can a 15-minute procedure replace surgery?

Claim

15 MINUTE CARPAL FIX?

Catch

SMALL RCT

Verdict

PROMISING, NOT PROVEN

A randomized trial in Radiology compared ultrasound-guided hydrodissection — a fifteen-minute, steroid-free procedure that uses fluid to free the compressed nerve in the wrist — with steroid injections in sixty-three people with carpal tunnel syndrome. Hydrodissection provided longer-lasting improvements in pain, numbness, and hand function than steroids. But this is a single-center trial of sixty-three patients with short follow-up: a promising signal, not proof that surgery can be avoided for everyone. Talk to a hand specialist before canceling any procedure.

SOURCES

1. Bose A, Tandon A, Mehrotra G, Maheshwari S, Khandelwal A. "Efficacy of US-guided Hydrodissection for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome: A Prospective Randomized Controlled Trial." Radiology. 2026;321(1). DOI: 10.1148/radiol.260185

For information only, not medical advice. Talk to a doctor about carpal tunnel treatment.