Introduction: Open carpal tunnel release is a common procedure performed in the United States which can be associated with significant postoperative morbidity. The purpose of this study was to determine the value of postoperative cold therapy in reducing pain associated with open carpal tunnel release.

Methods: A single surgeon performed open carpal tunnel releases on 50 patients. All patients had undergone conservative management of their carpal tunnel syndrome including splinting, therapy, and oral pain medications. The patients were randomly assigned to one of two groups. Group 1 received oral narcotic medication(hydrocodone 5mg/acetaminophen 500 mg) for postoperative pain management. Group 2 received oral narcotic medication as well as a cold therapy unit to be used for 2-5 days immediately following surgery. The quantity of oral narcotics was measured for each patient for the first five days following surgery. Patients were also asked for their subjective assessment of the cold therapy concerning pain reduction after surgery.

Results: Group1 required an average of 13.56 pills compared with group 2 which required 5.36 pills for postoperative analgesia with a P value of .0001. The data was analyzed by an unpaired two tailed t test. All patients who received the cold therapy felt that it reduced their pain after surgery. There were no postoperative wound complications in either group.

Discussion and Conclusions: Use of cold therapy following open carpal tunnel release is a valuable tool in reducing patient’s postoperative pain. Patients who received the cold therapy required significantly less oral narcotic pain medication and felt that the cold therapy reduced their pain postoperatively.