Acupuncture is more effective than ibuprofen at resolving carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) symptoms, according to the results of a study from Iran. Fifty patients with CTS were randomly divided into two groups. Both groups received night-time wrist splinting as per standard conservative treatment for one month. The acupuncture treatment group also received eight sessions of acupuncture, twice a week for four weeks. The control group received 400 mg of ibuprofen three times a day for 10 days. Outcomes were evaluated at baseline and one month after the end of treatment. At one-month follow-up, significant improvements were found in both groups. Acupuncture performed significantly better than ibuprofen in terms of subjective symptom scores. Patients with CTS who received acupuncture reported greater improvement in pain, numbness and tingling at night, and frequency of waking up due to discomfort. Acupuncture also outperformed ibuprofen on the basis of objective electrodiagnostic testing.
The benefits too are Ibuprofen is not good for your stomach, so Acupuncture being more effective not only reduces the pain, but also helps indirectly protect your digestion.
Please note that this was a small study of just 50 participants, even though the results show a positive outcome, larger studies will be required to provide definitive evidence of efficiency.
Efficacies of Acupuncture and Anti-inflammatory Treatment for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. J Acupunct Meridian Stud. 2015 Oct;8(5):229-35.
