ActiPatch® and Pillar Pain After Open Carpal Tunnel Release: A 2025 Observational Study
Citation: Sassara G, Cannella A, Caruso L, Taccardo G, Passiatore M, Militerno A, Marinangeli M, De Vitis R. Effectiveness of ActiPatch® in the Management and Prevention of Pillar Pain Following Open Carpal Tunnel Release Surgery in Weight-Bearing Hand of Elderly Patients: An Observational Study. Medicinski Glasnik (Zenica), 2025. DOI: 10.17392/1787-22-01
Department of Orthopaedics, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli IRCCS, Rome
Pillar pain is a deep ache at the base of the palm that can follow open carpal tunnel release. It usually settles with time, but in older patients who bear weight through the hand, for example when using a cane or pushing up from a chair, it can slow recovery. Orthopaedic surgeons at Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli IRCCS in Rome reported their experience using ActiPatch® for this problem.
Study Design
- observational study, no control group
- 10 elderly patients with pillar pain after open carpal tunnel release
- ActiPatch® worn for seven days to treat established pillar pain
- pre-emptive ActiPatch® use when the opposite hand was later operated on
- outcomes: pain (visual analogue scale), function (QuickDASH and Michigan Hand Questionnaire), patient satisfaction
Findings Reported by Investigators
All ten patients improved in pain level and functional capacity after using ActiPatch® for established pillar pain. During the later preventive phase, after surgery on the opposite hand, none of the patients developed pillar pain. The authors concluded that the approach was viable for managing and preventing pillar pain in this group.
Strengths and Limitations
- a published, peer-reviewed report of ActiPatch® use from a university orthopaedic department
- validated hand-function instruments alongside pain scores
- each patient served as a before-and-after comparison across two operations
- ten patients, no randomization and no placebo or sham group
- pillar pain often improves on its own, so part of the change may reflect natural recovery
- results in elderly weight-bearing hands may not generalize to other patients
ActiPatch® is FDA cleared for over-the-counter adjunctive treatment of musculoskeletal pain. This study describes investigator findings in a post-surgical setting; it is not a cleared indication, and anyone recovering from surgery should follow their surgeon's advice.
“Small observational reports do not settle questions, but they tell us where a carefully controlled trial would be worth running.”
Citation
Sassara G, Cannella A, Caruso L, Taccardo G, Passiatore M, Militerno A, Marinangeli M, De Vitis R. Effectiveness of ActiPatch® in the management and prevention of pillar pain following open carpal tunnel release surgery in weight-bearing hand of elderly patients: an observational study. Medicinski Glasnik (Zenica). 2025;22(1):115-120. DOI: 10.17392/1787-22-01. PMID: 40129323.