ClinicalTrials.gg
Not yet recruitingNCT07754708Updated Aug 10, 2026

The Effect of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Phenotyping on Response to Treatment

An interventional study of Standard Rehabilitation Protocol in Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, sponsored by Kutahya Health Sciences University. Not yet recruiting. Open to participants aged 18 Years to 65 Years. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-08-10.

Sponsored by Kutahya Health Sciences University · Not applicable, Interventional, and Other

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Phase
Not applicable
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
50
Allocation
Randomized
Ages
18 Years to 65 Years
Sex
All
01

Study summary

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS) phenotyping on responsiveness to clinical interventions in individuals with CTS.

Read the detailed description

People between the ages of 18-65, diagnosed with Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, who are suitable for the Neuropathic pain phenotype and who volunteer to participate in the study will be included. The 7 steps in the Clinical Criteria/Rating System for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome as defined by the International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP) will be applied to patients with CTS. After determining the dominant pain phenotype in patients with CTS, one group will consist of patients with homogeneous neuropathic pain phenotype (Group 1). The heterogeneous group will consist of patients with neuropathic and mixed pain phenotype (both neuropathic and nociplastic pain phenotype) (Group 2). Training, exercise, and wrist splinting will be applied to both groups. The training will include a presentation and booklet on the pathophysiology of CTS, treatment options (conservative treatment and surgery), posture and activity modification principles. Participants will be given a programme of median nerve sliding and tendon sliding exercises as home exercises. The numerical rating scale (NRS) scale will be used for pain assessment. Boston Carpal Tunnel Questionnaire - Symptom Severity Scale, Boston Carpal Tunnel Questionnaire - Functional Status Scale, Michigan Hand Results Questionnaire (MHQ) will be used. Normality of data distribution will be assessed using the Shapiro-Wilk test. Fisher's exact test and chi-square test will be used to verify the relationship between categorical variables. A mixed model ANOVA will be performed on 2 (group 1 and group 2) x 3 (time: baseline, week 6 and week 12) different outcome measures (pain intensity, symptom severity, functional status, Michigan Hand Results Questionnaire (MHQ)) to detect between-group differences.

02

Conditions studied

  • Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
03

In context

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

589 studies on the registry are indexed under Carpal Tunnel Syndrome; 134 are open to participants now.

This study's planned enrollment of 50 is below the median of 60 across 444 interventional studies indexed under Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.

Browse Carpal Tunnel Syndrome studies →

Lead sponsor

Kutahya Health Sciences University is the lead sponsor of 219 studies on the registry; 48 are open to participants now.

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
18 Years to 65 Years
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
No

Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.

Inclusion criteria

  • Being diagnosed with CTS
  • Being suitable for the neuropathic pain phenotype
  • Being between the ages of 18-65
  • Volunteering to participate in the study

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Having systemic inflammatory disease
  • Having a disease that may cause polyneuropathy such as diabetes mellitus
  • Having a pacemaker
  • Having a disease affecting the central nervous system
  • Having cervical radiculopathy
  • History of previous operation or local injection due to CTS
  • to heat and cold
Terms in these criteria, in plain language(2)

Underlined terms in the criteria open these too. Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.

Corticosteroids (steroids)

Anti-inflammatory medicines such as prednisone, prednisolone and dexamethasone — not the anabolic steroids used for muscle.

Studies differ in what they allow: check which steroid medicines, routes (tablets, injections, creams, inhalers, eye drops) and doses this study accepts.

Hypersensitivity

An allergy, or another reaction of the immune system, to a substance. “Hypersensitivity to the study drug” means a known allergic reaction to it — not every side effect a medicine can have.

05

Study design

Phase
Not applicable
Primary purpose
Other
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention model
Parallel assignment
Masking
Triple (Participant, Care provider, Outcomes assessor)
Enrollment
50 participants (estimated)

Study arms

  • Experimental
    Homogeneous Neuropathic Phenotype

    Participants assigned to this arm present with a clinically determined, homogeneous neuropathic phenotype. All individuals in this group will receive a standard rehabilitation protocol consisting of patient education, splint application, and a structured exercise program.

    Other: Standard Rehabilitation Protocol

  • Active comparator
    Heterogeneous Unclassified Phenotype

    Participants assigned to this arm do not have a specifically classified neuropathic phenotype and present with heterogeneous characteristics. All individuals in this group will receive the same standard rehabilitation protocol consisting of patient education, splint application, and a structured exercise program.

    Other: Standard Rehabilitation Protocol

Interventions

  • OtherStandard Rehabilitation Protocol

    A comprehensive standard rehabilitation program consisting of patient education, application of a clinical splint, and a structured exercise.

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Numerical Rating Scale

    Patients rate the current pain intensity from 0 ("no pain") to 10 ("worst possible pain").

    Time frame: Baseline, 6 weeks, 12 weeks

  2. Boston Carpal Tunnel Questionnaire - Symptom Severity Scale

    Boston Carpal Tunnel Questionnaire - Symptom Severity Scale is an 11-item questionnaire used to assess symptom severity in individuals with CTS. Each item is scored from 1 to 5. Scores range from 1 (no symptoms) to 5 (worst symptoms). The patient's symptom severity score is the average score of 11 items.

    Time frame: Baseline, 6 weeks, 12 weeks

  3. Boston Carpal Tunnel Questionnaire - Functional Status Scale

    Boston Carpal Tunnel Questionnaire - Functional Status Scale is an 8-item questionnaire used to assess the functional status of patients with CTS. Each item is scored from 1 to 5. Scores range from 1 (no functional deficit) to 5 (worst possible function). The patient's functional status score is the average of all 8 items.

    Time frame: Baseline, 6 weeks, 12 weeks

  4. Michigan Hand Questionnaire (MHQ)

    The Michigan Hand Questionnaire (MHQ) is a hand-specific questionnaire that measures the health status of patients with acute and chronic hand disorders. The MHQ is an outcome tool consisting of 37 questions and 6 domains: (1) overall hand function, (2) activities of daily living, (3) pain, (4) work performance, (5) aesthetics, and (6) patient satisfaction with function. Each domain is scored using an unweighted method by summing the responses on each scale (1 to 5) and normalising the scores to a scale from 0 to 100. A lower score indicates more severe disability, other than pain. The final score is obtained by averaging the six scores after inverting the pain score.

    Time frame: Baseline, 6 weeks, 12 weeks

Secondary outcomes

  1. Cold Pain Threshold

    For cold pain threshold, ice cubes (-5°C) placed in a plastic bag will be placed on the patients' skin for 10 seconds. Increased sensory perception will be considered as gain of function. The intensity of pain will also be recorded on an NRS scale ranging from 0 (no pain) to 10 (worst pain imaginable).

    Time frame: 2 minutes

  2. Hot Pain Threshold

    Thermal pain perception will be tested using a metal piece equal to (lab-QST thermode size). The metal parts will be heated to 45˚C for hot pain threshold. The metal pieces will be applied to the skin for 3 seconds. It will be determined whether the stimulus is painful (yes/no), and if painful, the intensity of the pain on a numerical rating scale (NRS) (0: no pain, 10: imaginably worse pain).

    Time frame: 2 minutes

  3. Pressure Pain Threshold

    A digital algometer will be used to measure Pressure Pain Threshold levels. Pressure will be applied at a rate of approximately 30 kPa/s with the algometer placed perpendicular to the point of application. Participants will be instructed to report when the sensation changes from pressure to pain. The intensity of pain will also be recorded on an NRS scale ranging from 0 (no pain at all) to 10 (worst pain imaginable).

    Time frame: 3 minutes

  4. Mechanical Pain Threshold

    Mechanical pain threshold: to be assessed with a toothpick and a von Frey filament (256 mN). Increased sensory perception will be considered to reflect gain of function. The intensity of pain will also be recorded on an NRS scale ranging from 0 (no pain at all) to 10 (worst pain imaginable).

    Time frame: 3 minutes

  5. Dynamic Mechanical Allodynia

    Patients will be touched on the affected area and the control area with a brush, an ear stick and a piece of cotton wool. The assessment tools will be applied 4 times by drawing a cross of 2 strokes (length 5 cm) at an angle of 90˚C in each direction. For each stimulus (brush/ear swab/cotton swab), they will indicate (1) whether the stimulus was perceived as painful (yes/no) and (2) the pain intensity on the NRS-11 (0 no pain, 10 imaginably worse pain).

    Time frame: 3 minutes

07

Study locations

No study locations are listed for this record.

08

Timeline

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
ElapsedEstimatedEstimated, not yet reachedSimilar studies: half by the dot; the band is the middle halfHalf of similar studies reached it by the dot; the band is the middle half, from a quarter to three quarters

Start is estimated for Oct 2026; primary completion for Oct 2027, 12 months later.

Of 251 non-industry interventional studies with no phase under Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, half reached primary completion within 12 months of starting (the median), counting those still running; a quarter within 6 and three quarters within 27. This study's planned 12 months is close to that.

Counting every sponsor, half of 261 studies reached it within 12 months; a quarter within 7 and three quarters within 26.

How these figures are worked out, and which studies are left out of them.

Registered
Jul 25, 2026
First posted
Aug 10, 2026
StartEst.
Oct 27, 2026
Primary completionEst.
Oct 27, 2027
CompletionEst.
Dec 27, 2027
Last update
Aug 10, 2026
What these dates mean
Start.
When the first participant enrolled; while estimated, when the study expects to open to recruitment.
Primary completion.
When the last participant was examined or treated to collect data for the study's main question, its primary outcome. A study that stopped early gives the date its data collection stopped.
Completion.
When the last participant's last visit took place, for every outcome, secondary ones and side effects included: the end of the study. Often later than primary completion, sometimes the same day.
Actual and Est.
Actual means the registry says the date has happened. Est. (estimated) is a date the sponsor plans or expects. It can still move, and the sponsor is expected to change it to actual once it has passed.
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Aug 10, 2026, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
09

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT07754708
Responsible party
Emrah Afsar (Head of Occupational Therapy, Kutahya Health Sciences University) — Principal investigator
First posted
Aug 10, 2026
Start date
Oct 27, 2026 (estimated)
Primary completion
Oct 27, 2027 (estimated)
Completion
Dec 27, 2027 (estimated)
Last update
Aug 10, 2026

Study contacts

Emrah Afsar, Phd
Contact
emrah.afsar@ksbu.edu.tr
5062527008
Ayse Kocak Sezgin, Phd
Contact
ayse.kocaksezgin@ksbu.edu.tr
+90 5072243706
Emrah Afsar, Phd
principal investigator · Kutahya Health Science University

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
No
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

Not currently enrolling

This study is not yet recruiting, as verified in Aug 2026. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.

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