• Archives of Plastic Surgery
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• v.34 no.6
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• pp.771-776
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• 2007

Purpose: Complete release of the transverse carpal ligament (TCL) is accepted as the standard treatment for carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS). However, loss of grip and pinch power are reported in some patients after complete release of the TCL. This study was designed to evaluate the effectiveness of complete versus partial carpal tunnel release by using the inching technique. Methods: Nineteen patients (a total of 27 hands) who each had a confirmed diagnosis of CTS were selected from September 2002 to February 2003. The cases were divided into three groups(mild, moderate and severe) based on preoperative electrodiagnostic studies. The patients with partial carpal tunnel syndrome were classified into the mild or moderate groups, while patients with complete carpal tunnel syndrome were classified into the moderate or severe groups. Patient oriented data (functional and symptomatic) were collected and electrophysiologic studies were undertaken preoperatively and postoperatively(on the 2nd week, 1st month, 3rd month and 6th month after surgery).Results: In this study, the mild and moderate groups showed both good functional and symptomatic results and improvements in electrophysiologic studies.Conclusion: Carpal tunnel syndrome patients classified into mild or moderate groups based on nerve conduction studies, and whose precise compression sites were pinpointed using the inching technique, can be treated by partial carpal tunnel release.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.19 no.6
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• pp.61-66
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• 2002

Objective : Carpal tunnel syndrome has gained increasing attention and acceptance as a significant cause of peripheral neuropathy, since it was first reported in 1836. The purpose of this study is to inspect the effect of oriental medical treatment on Carpal tunnel syndrome patients who is not come under surgical decompession. Methods : 20 patients who visited Won-Kwang University Hospital during the period from January 1998 to May 2000 were analysed for clinical manifestations. Results : 1. Among 20 patients, 3 were male and 17 were female. 2. The syndrome occurred on the right side in 5 patients, on the left side in 0 patients, and on both 15 patients 3. The most of causes were overwork. 4. Numbness was the most common symptom followed by night pain, paresthesis, morning stiffness, puffiness and resting pain 5. Among 20 patients, 12 were Tinel's sign positive, 16 were Phalen's test positive Conclusions : When the symptom is mild and duration is short, conservative treatment is effetive, but when neurological deficit is prominent and conservative treatment is not effective, surgical decompession is indicated. We treated 19 among 20 cases of the patients which Carpal Tunnel syndrome. We achieved effective results.

• Physical Therapy Korea
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.113-124
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• 2002

The objectives of this study was to investiage the effects of sitting posture on carpal tunnel syndrome. Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) continues to be one of the most widely publicized maladies of the cumulative trauma disorder. Many studies have reported a positive association between CTS and highly repetitive work, high force, and poor posture. High force and repetitive work have especially been associated with CTS, but the evidence for work being a primary cause of CTS is strongest when these factors are combined. In addition to carpal tunnel syndrome, hand, wrist, and other disorders are attributed to these work-related movements. Such disorders are referred to as repetitive stress injuries, cumulative trauma disorder, overuse syndromes, and chronic upper limb pain syndrome. Incorrect posture also may play a role in the development of CTS in people who work at a computer and other types of keyboards. The tendency to roll the shoulders forward, round the lower back, and thrust the chin forward can shorten the neck and shoulder muscles, compressing nerves in the neck. This, in turn, can affect the wrist, fingers, and hand. The treatment and prevention of carpal tunnel syndrome continue to be approached with a segmental view of the human body. For example, the most common ergonomic solution for carpal tunnel syndrome associated with keyboard use is to keep the wrists in a neutral position by using a wrist rest in front of the keyboard and good sitting posture.

• The Journal of Korean Physical Therapy
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.266-273
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• 2002

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome(CTS) is a common entrapment neuropathy of the median nerve at the wrist. An Electrophysiologic study has been widely used for the diagnosis of carpal tunnel syndrome. The subjects of this study were 48 cases (88 hands) with clinically suspected carpal tunnel syndrome who underwent electrodiagnostic examination from Jan 1, 2001 to Sep 30, 2001, The results were as follows: 1. Among 48 persons with a clinically suspected carpal tunnel syndrome, 40 patients were female 83.33$\%$ and the patients who are above 60 years old were 37.50$\%$. 2. Electrodiagnostic results were 22 cases (45.84$\%$) with bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome and 10 cases (20.83$\%$) with normal. 3. Physical findings consisted of tingling sensation in 48.86$\%$ of the involved hands, positive Phalen's Sign in 20.46$\%$ of them, thenar atrophy in 15.91$\%$ of them, and weakness in 14.77$\%$ of them. 4. Electrophysiologic studies showed a decreased sensory conduction velocity in 20 cases (22.73$\%$) of total hands, a prolonged latency in 3 cases (3.41$\%$) of them, abnormal sensory and motor fiber in 33 cases (37.50$\%$) of them, and normal in 27 cases (30.68$\%$) of them. Considering above results, we had better make a diagnosis precisely the patients with clinically suspected carpal tunnel syndrome through subjective symtoms, physical examinations, and electrophysiologic studies.

• The Journal of Korean Obstetrics and Gynecology
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.65-76
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• 2015

Objectives : This study is to report the effect of Korean medical treatment on a patient suffered from carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) occurred in pregnancy and worsened after birth. Methods : We treated the patient diagnosed as carpal tunnel syndrome by Korean medical treatment such as acupuncture, pharmacopuncture and herbal medicine at ⃝⃝Hospital of Korean Medicine from July 31th 2015 to August 6th 2015. And we evaluated changes of symptoms by Visual Analog Scale (VAS), Tinel sign, Phalen’s test, and Digital Infrared Thermographic Imaging (DITI). Results : 1. Through Korean medical treatment, postpartum carpal tunnel syndrome was significantly improved. VAS was decreased from 4 to 2, Phalen’s test was manifested from 10 seconds to 26 seconds and Tinel sign was changed from positive to negative. 2. We compared the gap of temperature between palm and forearm before and after Korean medical treatment through DITI. The temperature on the right side was changed from 0.74℃ to 1.01℃ and the left one from 0.63℃ to 1.01℃. Conclusions : This case report shows that Korean medical treatment is useful to treat pregnancy-related carpal tunnel syndrome worsened after birth.

• Journal of Korean Medicine Rehabilitation
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.119-132
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• 2020

Objective The purpose of this study was to investigate clinical studies between 2015 and 2020 on the traditional Chinese medicine treatment for carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) using the China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) database. Methods We searched clinical studies on the Chinese medicine treatment published in traditional Chinese medical journals on CTS through the CNKI search. Fifteen published studies between 2015 and 2020 were chosen and examined for the year of publication, sample size, study design type, diagnosis and evaluation of diverse criteria, treatment period, purpose of the study, and classification based on the treatment technique. Results Out of 73 studies, 15 had practiced various Chinese medical treatments, such as acupuncture, moxibustion, manipulation, herbal medicine application therapy, and external herbal treatment. Conclusions Various studies have investigated the Chinese medicine treatment for CTS in China. To envelope the treatment of CTS in Korean medicine, steady and valuable therapies for high-level clinical research are required. In the future, this study could be helpful in the development of the treatment of CTS with Korean medicine.

• Annals of Clinical Neurophysiology
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.177-180
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• 2003

Background and Objectives: A nerve conduction study (NCS) has been known as a useful method to evaluate the therapeutic effect of operation in carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS). To evaluate the temporal relationship between symptomatic and electrophysiological improvement, we compared the preoperative symptoms and electrophysiological results with postoperative those. Methods: We analyzed the NCS changes before and after minimal release of carpal tunnel in 26 patients (34 hands) with CTS. The time of postoperative symptomatic changes, postoperative electrophysiological changes and temporal relationship between symptomatic and electrophysiological changes were evaluated. Results: The mean age was $49{\pm}13$ years. The proportion of males to female was 8 and 92 percent. The median interval days between date of operation and those of postoperative NCS was 28.5 days. Postoperative symptoms improved in 17 hands, slightly improved in 13 hands, and have not changed in 4 hands. Electrophysiological improvements after operation were observed in 26 hands, and mostly appeared within 2 months. Symptomatic relief accompanied with electrophysiological improvement reported in 13 hands (50%). Moreover, the four hands with symptom, not relieved by decompression, showed electrophysiological improvement. Conclusions: In this study, electrophysiological improvement was in consistency with symptomatic relief to some extent, but we got the result of disagreement between electrophysiological and symptomatic improvement.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.372-378
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• 2000

The carpal tunnel syndrome is one of the most common entrapment neuropathy. Surgical treatments consist of conventional open technique, alternative technique using retinaculatome, and endoscopic surgery. This study compares the outcomes of surgical treatment of carpal tunnel syndrome following conventional versus endoscopic release. The authors reviewed 56 cases of 33 patients with carpal tunnel syndrome treated surgically in our institute from January 1991 to May 1998. The follow-up evaluation was possible in 36 cases of 20 patients who had conventional release and in 11 cases of 7 patients with endoscopic release. The following parameters were evaluated for comparison : improvement of symptom, return to normal work, recovery of strength of grip and pinch, rate of complication, follow-up electrophysiologic finding. Compared with open decompression, the group of endoscopic decompression needed significantly less time to go back to work(p<0.001). Also strength of grip and pinch improved faster in the group of endoscopic decompression as well, compared with open decompression(p<0.05). These results indicate that endoscopic procedure is an excellent, minimally invasive method to treat carpal tunnel syndrome, performed by surgeons who are fully aware of the anatomy.

• Clinical Pain
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.70-75
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• 2019

Objective: The purpose of this study is to evaluate the usefulness of infrared thermography in patients with carpal tunnel syndrome by comparing with electrodiagnostic and ultrasonographic findings. Method: From January 2014 to October 2017, electrodiagnosis, ultrasound, and digital infrared thermal image (DITI) of unilateral carpal tunnel syndrome diagnosed in a single hospital were retrospectively analyzed. The subjects with bilateral symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome, peripheral vascular disease, diabetes, thyroid disease, fibromyalgia, rheumatic disease, systemic infection, inflammation, malignant tumor, and other musculoskeletal disorders such as finger osteoarthritis, peripheral neuropathy, cervical radiculopathy, and the previous history of surgery were excluded. Results: Of 53 patients diagnosed with carpal tunnel syndrome, 11 were male and 42 were female. The visual analogue scale was 4.9 ± 1.9, and the duration of symptom was 11.8 ± 12.5 months. There was no statistically significant difference in the body surface temperature between the unaffected and affected sides. The severity of symptoms, electrodiagnostic findings, and cross-sectional area of the median nerve significantly correlates to each other. The temperature difference between the second fingers of the affected and unaffected sides showed a weak correlation with the amplitude of sensory nerve action potential and onset latency of compound muscle action potential, when there was no significant correlation with the other parameters. Conclusion: The difference in temperature on the surface of the body, which can be confirmed by DITI, is little diagnostic value when DITI is performed in unilateral carpal tunnel syndrome patients, especially when compared with ultrasonography.

• Journal of Pharmacopuncture
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.39-45
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• 2005

Objective : The purpose of the study was to evaluate if CF herbal acupuncture is more effective than simple acupuncture in the carpal tunnel syndrome. Methods : We classified two groups: CF group(patients treated by CF herbal acupuncture and then treated by acupuncture) and N-CF group(patients treated entirely by acupuncture without other treatment). We evaluated subjective symptoms and Phalen's test of patients after executing, and then analyzed those. Results : 1. Both CF group and N-CF group were statistically significant(p<0.05) in improvement of symptoms and Phalen's test since third times of treatment. 2. It appears that CF group was more effective than N-CF group for treatment of carpal tunnel syndrome. That was statistically significant(p<0.05) since third times of treatment.