Abstract
A group of 39 CTS patients with 60 affected hands participated in the study. A self-administered questionnaire developed by Levine et al. (1993) and nerve conduction measures (NCS) were used. The factor analysis showed a consistent result with previous studies: Primary (numbness, tingling, and nocturnal symptoms) and Secondary (pain, weakness, and clumsiness) symptoms. Peason's correlation coefficients showed that two primary symptoms (numbness and tingling) were highly correlated (p <.05) with NCS results while the other symptoms were not. Among the primary symptoms, only nocturnal symptoms did not show any significant correlation with NCS results. The nocturnal symptoms could be more of a mechanical problem of wrist flexion at night and not a reflection of nerve slowing at night versus daytime but still was a good measure of CTS. The primary symptoms could be used as a potential screening tool for early CTS in the workplace.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.