Clinical Trial

Photobiomodulation for Median Nerve Neuroplasticity in Carpal Tunnel Syndrome: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Study acronym: PBM-CTS-RCT
Not Yet Recruiting
View on ClinicalTrials.gov →
Summary
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS) is the most common peripheral entrapment neuropathy, causing pain, paresthesia, and hand dysfunction due to median nerve compression at the wrist. While physiotherapy provides symptom relief, it does not effectively address the underlying neuroplastic deficits of the median nerve. Photobiomodulation (PBM), delivered at 830 nm near-infrared wavelength, has shown potential to enhance peripheral nerve regeneration via cytochrome c oxidase activation, ATP synthesis, and upregulation of neurotrophic factors including brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). This randomized controlled trial will evaluate whether 830 nm PBM (200 mW, 4 J/cm², 12 sessions over 4 weeks) combined with routine physiotherapy produces significantly greater neuroplastic recovery of the median nerve - assessed by high-resolution ultrasound (HRUS) measurement of median nerve cross-sectional area (CSA), nerve conduction study parameters and serum BDNF - compared to sham PBM combined with identical physiotherapy in adults with mild-to-moderate CTS. Neuroplasticity was operationalised as a multimodal construct comprising: (1) functional recovery, indexed by nerve conduction study parameters; (2) structural remodelling, indexed by median nerve cross-sectional area on high-resolution ultrasound; and (3) molecular neuroplastic signalling, indexed by serum BDNF. This multimodal approach was adopted because no single measure captures the full construct of peripheral nerve neuroplasticity (Padua et al., 2020).
Trial Details
NCT Number NCT07714720
Lead Sponsor University of Lahore
Conditions Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS)
Enrollment 70 participants
Start Date 2026-08-15
Primary Completion 2027-05-15 (estimated)
Study Completion 2027-08-15 (estimated)
Updated on ClinicalTrials.gov 2026-07-20