Date of Award

1996

Document Type

Scholarly Project

Degree Name

Master of Physical Therapy (MPT)

Department

Physical Therapy

First Advisor

Beverly Johnson

Keywords

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome; Cervical Vertebrae; Mass Screening -- methods; Wrist Injuries

Abstract

Cumulative Trauma Disorders (CTDs) developed at work are caused by repetitive movements or sustained postures. Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS) and Cervical Radiculopathy (CR) are both CTDs resulting from repetitive wrist movements and sustained cervical postures respectively. Although both conditions can present with similar symptoms in the exact same hand and finger location, there has been no research comparing the prevalence of CTS and CR symptoms in a given population.

The purpose of this study was to identify hand and finger symptoms and correlate the severity of the symptoms with objective measures. Thirty employees of the City of Grand Forks, ND, volunteered for this study. All subjects filled out a demographic survey, symptom severity questionnaire, and body diagram. They also performed the Phalen's test and the McKenzie repeated and sustained cervical flexion tests. Nineteen subjects reported pre-study symptoms of varying severity. The ratio of positive Phalen's tests to McKenzie tests was greater than 2:1. The correlation between pre-study symptom severity and Phalen's test result was significant. The correlation between pre-study symptom severity and McKenzie sustained flexion test result was also significant. The results of this study have implications for all health professionals in occupational medicine and the City of Grand Forks in CTS and CR education and prevention programs.

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