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Background and Objective: Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is one of the most common disease among the entrapment neuropathies. The purposes of this study was to compare the efficacy of a new dorsal wrist splinting versus common palmar splinting for CTS based on sensory nerve conduction measurements. Materials and Methods: This single blind randomized control trial study was carried out on 22 idiopathic CTS patients. Subjects were randomly divided in two groups: Dorsal splint group (n=12) and palmar splint group (n=10). Both groups used splints for 4 weeks. Sensory conduction study of median nerve were done initially for having baseline and after 4 weeks follow up. SPSS-16 and Kolmogorov–Smirnov, independent T, and paired T tests were used for analysis of Data Results: After four weeks median nerve sensory distal latency and conduction velocity improved significantly in both groups (P<0.05). There was significant difference between both groups due to electro-diagnostic improvement. Conclusion: This study showed that based on electro-diagnostic method, dorsal wrist splint is more effective than cockup splint in carpal tunnel syndrome.

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Background and Objective: The first carpometacarpal joint osteoarthritis reduced the ability of upper limb in elderly with subsequent disability in physical activities. This study was carried out to determine the effect of prefabricated and custom-made splints on quality of life in the first carpometacarpal joint osteoarthritis. Materials and Methods: This quasi-experimental study was done on 24 elderly (>60 years of age) patients with the first carpometacarpal joint osteoarthritis and 12 matched healthy subjects in Tehran rehabilitation University during 2010-11. Patients assigned randomly in two groups with 8 weeks treatment period, prefabricated thumb and custom-made splints. Persian version of The Short Form 36 quastioner (SF36) was used to assess the quality of life. Data were analyzed using SPSS-16 and paired t-test. Results: There were significant differences between osteoarthritis patients and healthy subjects in the quality of life according to SF36 score physical health problem (P<0.05), general health (P<0.05), limitations of activities (P<0.05), emotional health problem (P<0.05), social activities (P<0.05), pain (P<0.05), energy and emotions (P<0.05). Using splints significantly improved the quality of life of patients, but there was no significant difference between two splints in improving the quality of life. Conclusion: Prefabricated and custom-made