Carpal Tunnel Syndrome - a Pathology of 21st Century

Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is the most common entrapment neuropathy and affects around 5% of the general population. This pathology has been perceived as the most common cause of sick leave, decreased productivity, and personal financial losses and not surprisingly results also in high medical and non-medical costs. (Feng et al., 2021) 

Typical occupations of patients with this pathology include those who use computers for an extended time and those who perform frequent, repetitive movements with specific equipment, or tool. For example, it is the most common pathology in industrial workers using grinding tools, representing more than 60% of them. (Feng et al., 2021)

Since smartphones have recently come to be used more frequently than computers in daily life, various adverse effects of smartphones appeared. A study by Al Shahrani E. et Al Shehri N. (2021) showed that people who spend lots of time on their smartphones and computer/s are more prone to develop carpal tunnel syndrome.

Carpal tunnel syndrome surgery is one of the most frequently performed hand operations. However, patients often experience worsening or no change in symptoms after the intervention. According to the article of Kaehr (2010), the failure rate for carpal tunnel surgery is over 50%. In that same article, one study showed that half of the people who reported having CTS symptoms received carpal tunnel surgery. Of those, only five per cent actually needed surgery — the other 45% could have been treated more conservatively.

This diagnosis will likely be more and more common among young people, and educating them about the problem and treatment options is essential. It is obvious, that carpal tunnel surgery should be the last option taken after other treatment options are performed first.

Treatment with Shockwave, High-Intensity Laser or Super Inductive System shows great results in terms of symptoms and functional outcome. We recommend educating patients about the importance of posture, and ergonomics, always in combination with exercises focused on dysbalances and neurodynamics exercises that reduce nerve mechanosensitivity and restore symptom-free limb movement and function. 

Watch a video that demonstrates how to use BTL High-Intensity Laser, Shockwave Therapy and Super Inductive System in Carpal tunnel syndrome