Effect of hand volume and other anthropometric measurements on carpal tunnel syndrome

Abstract

Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS), majority of cases are considered to be idiopathic, is the most commonly encountered peripheral neuropathy causing disability. We asserted that thick and big hands may more prone to idiopathic CTS (ICTS) than others. The study included 165 subjects admitted to our electrophysiology lab with pre-diagnosis of CTS between May 2014 and April 2015. Eighty-five of the subjects were diagnosed as ICTS. The parameters analyzed were: age, gender, occupation, BMI, hand dominance, grade of ICTS, wrist circumference, proximal/distal width of palm, hand/palm length, hand volume and palm length/proximal palm width. Female gender was significantly higher in both groups. The mean age of study group was 44.02±9.11years, and control group was 41.25±9.94years. BMI, wrist circumference and hand volume were significantly higher in the study group (p<0.05). However, palm length/prox.palm width ratio was higher in the control group (p=0.00). There were also significant differences among CTS groups in terms of age (p=0.001). Mean age was higher in severe CTS group. Female gender, older age and high BMI are risk factors for ICTS. Higher hand volume, wrist circumference and lower palm length/prox. palm width ratio can also be anthropometric risk factors. Large hand volumes, big and coarse hands are more prone to ICTS.