Fact · Accessibility and health
up to a thirdof people
Carpal tunnel symptoms can improve without treatment in up to a third of people, according to the 2023 Cochrane steroid review.
Checked against its source on October 16, 2026
In the source's own words
“spontaneous improvement without treatment can occur in up to a third of people.”
Local corticosteroid injection versus placebo for carpal tunnel syndrome, NL Ashworth et al., Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 2023, Key messages.
Open the original (DOI 10.1002/14651858.CD015148)- What it measures
- This is why placebo or no-treatment groups are needed to judge any treatment.
- What it does not show
- The review does not give a single figure, so this is an upper bound from the included trials.