Prevalence of Carpel Tunnel Syndrome among IT Professionals of Rawalpindi and Islamabad

Abstract

Carpal tunnel syndrome is a common problem that is caused by the pressure exerted on the medial nerve which causes pain, tingling, weakness, and numbness in the arm and hand. This syndrome is mostly related to repetitive movement of the hand and wrists. The current study aimed to find out the prevalence of carpal tunnel syndrome and its associated symptoms among IT professionals. The main objective of this study was to identify the incidence of carpel tunnel syndrome and its associated symptoms among IT professionals. This Cross-Sectional Survey was conducted on 400 IT professionals working at the IT departments of Pak China Investment Company Limited, Attock Refinery Limited, and Pakistan Statistical House of Data. The sampling technique for the selection of research subjects was purposive sampling. The data was collected through a self-structured questionnaire for carpal tunnel syndrome. Data were analyzed by SPSS 23. Out of 400 participants the total numbers of males reported were 212 (53%) and the total number of female reported in this study was 188 (47%). The mean age ± SD of participants reported in this study was 43.05 ±7.71 years. For mean ± SD of total working hours came out to be as 9.2 ± 1.5 hours per day. Out of 400 participants, 108(18.2%) reported tingling and numbness in their hands. The mean ± SD for the right and left wrist joint flexion range of motion was 64o± 12.8. For the extension range of motion mean ±SD for extension in both right and left wrist joints was 64o± 12.8. For ulnar deviation in both the right and left wrist joints of the individuals mean ± SD was 24o± 8.30. For radial deviation in both the right and left wrist joints of the individuals mean ± SD was 20o± 5.53. It was concluded that a relatively low prevalence of carpal tunnel syndrome was found among IT professionals. However, IT professionals were also experiencing discomfort and pain in their wrist/hand region due to their work. This unpleasant experience of pain and discomfort could be a future predictor of carpal tunnel syndrome.