Medicine is often used to treat symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome. Medicine may relieve swelling, inflammation, and pain in the wrist or hand. Reducing swelling in the wrist will relieve pressure on the median nerve in the carpal tunnel and relieve carpal tunnel symptoms.

Medication Choices

Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are the most commonly used medicines for carpal tunnel syndrome. NSAIDs relieve pain and inflammation and are available with or without a prescription. But a review of research suggests that NSAID treatment for 2 and 4 weeks may not improve carpal tunnel symptoms. NSAIDs may be most effective if the tendon is inflamed.³ Although studies have not shown NSAIDs to be effective for carpal tunnel syndrome, they may help relieve your symptoms.

Corticosteroids may be an effective treatment option when NSAIDs do not effectively relieve pain and inflammation.³ But corticosteroids are powerful anti-inflammatory medicines and have side effects that should be considered. Corticosteroids can be taken in pill form or injected into the wrist by a doctor.

What To Think About

Medicine should be used with other measures (such as ice, rest, and splints) to reduce pain and inflammation.

Corticosteroids:

• Usually are not used until nonsurgical treatments (such as rest, ice, splints, and anti-inflammatory medicines) have been tried for several weeks with no improvement.
• Often provide temporary relief (for several weeks or more). Injected corticosteroids usually provide longer-lasting results than those taken by mouth (oral), but oral or injected medicines rarely provide permanent relief from carpal tunnel symptoms.
• Must be used with caution because both oral and injected forms have potentially serious side effects.