Comparison of bilateral fine motor skill, scapular diskinesis, fear of movement and function in patients with carpal tunnel syndrome and healthy subjects

Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is caused by compression of the median nerve inside the carpal tunnel in the wrist. In this most common type of neuropathy, patients complain of pain, tingling, numbness, and impaired function. This study was carried out to determine fine motor skill, effectiveness in the scapular region, and to examine functional status and fear of movement in CTS. 15 CTS patients with an average age of 42.9 ± 11.30 years and 15 healthy subjects with an average age of 36.53 ± 10.05 years were included in our study. In all cases, fine motor skill was measured by Purdue Pegboard test, and scapular dyskinesia was measured by lateral scapular slide test (LSST); grip forces were evaluated by hand dynamometer and pinchmeter. Symptom and function evaluation with Boston Carpal Tunnel Questionnaire, upper extremity function evaluation with Quick Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand Questionnaire and kinesiophobia evaluation with Tampa Kinesiophobia Scale were made in the patient group; pain was questioned with Visual Analog Scale. IBM SPSS 25 program was used in the application of statistical analysis. p <0.05 was accepted as the significance level for all analyses. In the Purdue Pegboard test, when the left hand scores, both hand scores, the right, left and the sum scores of both hands and the merge procedure scores were examined, a significant difference was found between the two groups (p <0.05). There was no significant difference between the two groups for the 3 different positions in LSKT (p> 0.05). When the results related to pain were examined, it was seen that the highest feeling of pain was in the right hand at night. It was found that the mean value of the Boston Carpal Tunnel Survey Symptom Severity Scale was 2.77 ± 0.96; the mean value of the Boston Carpal Tunnel Survey Functional Status Scale was 2.94 ± 1.15; the mean value of the Tampa Kinesiophobia Scale was 39.53 ± 9.76; the median value of the Quick Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand Questionnaire was 54.54 (0-70.45). A significant correlation was found between the Boston Carpal Tunnel Questionnaire Symptom Severity Scale and feeling of pain during rest, activity and night in the right hand; between the Boston Carpal Tunnel Survey Functional Status Scale and feeling of pain during activity and night in the right-hand and feeling of pain during activity in the left-hand; and between Quick Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand Questionnaire and feeling of activity pain in both hands (p <0.05). As a result of our study, it was found that fine motor skill was negatively affected in CTS and changes in function were observed due to pain. No relation was found between CTS and scapular dyskinesia.