Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, including details on symptoms, causes, trauma, diagnosis, physiotherapy.

Carpal tunnel syndrome during pregnancy.

Finsen V, Zeitlmann H

Department of Neuroscience, Faculty of Medicine, NTNU, Trondheim, Norway. Vilh.Finsen@medisin.ntnu.no

Carpal tunnel syndrome is common during pregnancy. The symptoms usually disappear after delivery, but how soon has not been established. Thirty pregnant women with the syndrome reported to us the degree of pain in their hands every week before, and daily after, delivery. Pain was graded on a scale from 0 (none) to 10 (worst imaginable). The prevalence of the syndrome during pregnancy was about 2%. The mean pain score was 5.6 (SD 2.0) at referral and this was reduced by 1.2 (SD 2.2) after wearing an orthosis for a week. After this, it stayed almost unchanged until delivery. The score fell by half during the first week after parturition and by half again during the next week. The reduction in score was strongly correlated with loss of the weight gained during pregnancy (r = 0.97; p <0.001). Although symptoms may persist for some weeks after delivery, the severity declines quickly.

Published 23 January 2006 in Scand J Plast Reconstr Surg Hand Surg, 40(1): 41-5.
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