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Carpal Tunnel Syndrome: A Question of Hand and Wrist Configurations?

From the Department of Surgery, Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Austria, Department of Anatomy III, Medical School, University of Vienna, Austria

Correspondence: Dr Lars-Peter Kamolz, MD (Head: o. Univ. Prof. Dr. M. Frey), Department of Surgery, Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Medical School, University of Vienna, Waehringer Guertel 18-20, A-1090 Vienna, Austria. Tel.: +43140400-6986; fax: +43140400-6988; E-mail: lars.peter.kamolz{at}univie.ac.at

This study investigated whether there is an association between hand and wrist configurations and the occurrence of carpal tunnel syndrome. The external hand and wrist dimensions of 50 subjects with carpal tunnel syndrome and 50 healthy volunteers were measured and compared. In addition carpal tunnel depth and width were determined with ultrasound. Our results showed that the hand length was significantly higher in the control group (hand length, 19.0; SD, 1.0 cm: patients’ hand length, 18.2; SD, 1.1 cm) and the palm width was significantly greater in the patients’ group (palm width, 9.1; SD, 0.7 cm: controls palm width, 8.6; SD, 0.6 cm). Carpal tunnel syndrome patients had a squarer wrist (wrist ratio, 0.72; SD, 0.1) and carpal tunnel (carpal tunnel ratio, 0.48; SD, 0.1) than the controls (wrist ratio, 0.68; SD, 0.1; carpal tunnel ratio, 0.42; SD, 0.1). These findings indicate that the anatomy of the hand, wrist and carpal tunnel may predispose to carpal tunnel syndrome.

Key Words: carpal tunnel syndrome • median nerve • hand configuration • wrist configuration • carpal tunnel configuration

Journal of Hand Surgery (British and European Volume), Vol. 29, No. 4, 321-324 (2004)
DOI: 10.1016/J.JHSB.2003.09.010


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