Alternative treatments
If you had to choose between the two alternative treatments to use which would you rather choose, ultrasound therapy or CtrAC.
Have you ever at all come across anybody who has had any sort of success with CTRAC?
No! If you search the forum here you can see that it comes up for discussion on several occasions but I can't remember anyone ever coming back on here and reporting great success with it. JB
I have BL >R CTS confirmed by 2nerve conduction studies. 9th year of it, slated for surgery. Dropped 15 lb in 15 days (am 50-80 lb overweight) and found a remarkable diminishment of symptoms, about 70% improved. Read a positive study on CTrac, from ncbi website, peer reviewed, and decided to try my CTrac again. I must report that when I first tried it a few years back, I followed the manufacturers inflation limits: do not go above 180-190 pressure. That did absolutely nothing for me. We need to consider: this device is a hard casing and the person’s hand size going in will vary greatly. When my large-handed husband used it and inflated to 180-190, there is a stretch through the transverse carpal ligament. It did not a thing to my more slender wrists. Looking down the barrel of surgery, I thought, what do I have to lose? The carpal ligament? I have it to lose anyhow. So for almost a week now I have been inflating to my max ability: 400 for me, plus putting space between the plastic ends mid wrist to start so a further stretch the ligament—I have tolerated it fine. I try to preheat wrists and flexor tendons with hot water whenever I can, and CTrac 2-5 min 3-5x, 3-5x a day, swap to less affected L while stretching my R forearm flexors intensely after CTrac. My symptoms have not been this good for years, with just a week into treatment. Sometimes I was shaking numbness out every minute of work, 100’s of times a day. A few days of CTrac and the weight loss (it seems hugely important in my case), and the numbness dropped to 1-4x a work hour, not 60+x/work hr. Very optimistic! While I am but one case, I would strongly reconsider the manufacturer’s recommendations for inflation of CTrac—it is not a one-size-fits-all for pressure when hand sizes vary. I am trying to avoid surgery here, I would recommend people do what does not leave them worse off 24 hours later for inflation, and pushing it may be very necessary. I shall continue my treatments and weight-loss and see…
It's much more likely to be the weight loss that is making the difference than c-trac. I would be wary of inflating anything to very high pressures around the wrist as you will compromise the blood supply to the hand, though it is possible that it might also squeeze some fluid out of the carpal tunnel. I doubt very much if it is significantly stretching the ligament. JB
As we have completed a trial which showed absolutely no benefit from ultrasound I can see no point in wasting time and money on that. C-trac has not been adequately tested but if the manufacturers are still offering their money back guarantee then I would make use of it - ie if the problem has not been cured after 'x' weeks then money back. JB