Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
Conditions
Keywords
carpal tunnel
Brief summary
The purpose of this study is to assess the impact of the use of technical walking aids in the adult population undergoing rehabilitation by evaluating clinical, electrophysiological, and iconographic parameters before and after the use of these devices.
Detailed description
The current evidence indicates that the short-term use of walking aids elicits pressure-induced anatomical changes of the median nerve and that long-term use of walking aids leads to a significant percentage of stroke patients developing clinical symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome. We will investigate the consequences of using technical walking aids for gait in a broader population of rehabilitation patients. The rehabilitation setting per se may be considered a useful clinical 'human pathological model' for peripheral nerve entrapment. Recruited patients will be naïve to previous use of walking aids and de novo will start using them for gait rehabilitation, regardless of the underlying disease. This intervention model will allow us to identify clinical, electrophysiological, and anatomical changes of the median nerve due to the daily direct pressure elicited by walking aids. We consider that a one-month duration of use of walking aids is needed to observe detectable changes in electrophysiological and ultrasonographical assessment to elicit entrapment neuropathies in patients prone to developing them.
Interventions
DIAGNOSTIC_TESTnerve conduction study
sensory and motor nerve conduction study of both median nerves and ulnar nerves
DIAGNOSTIC_TESTultrasonography wrists
assess the cross-sectional area of the median nerves and the ulnar nerves
DIAGNOSTIC_TESTBoston carpal tunnel questionnaire
assess the severity of symptoms and the functional impact related to carpal tunnel syndrome
DIAGNOSTIC_TESTclinical provocative tests for carpal tunnel syndrome
Tinel and Phalen's test to evaluate the presence of carpal tunnel syndrome
Sponsors
Centre Hospitalier Valida
Study design
Allocation
NA
Intervention model
SINGLE_GROUP
Primary purpose
SCREENING
Masking
NONE
Intervention model description
cohort study
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
* admitted into an in-patient rehabilitation unit * Functional Ambulation Category ≥ 1 * de novo need for a walking aid * at least one functional upper limb * expected duration of need for walking aid at least one month
Exclusion criteria
* less than 18 years old * current use of walking aid or use of a walking aid less than 6 months ago) * difficulty filling out questionnaires or understanding instructions in French * medical contraindications to the use of walking aids * refusal to sign the consent form.
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Boston Carpal Tunnel Questionnaire | one month | The Boston Carpal Tunnel Questionnaire comprises two separate scales: the Symptom Severity Scale (SSS), which consists of 11 questions, and the Functional Status Scale (FSS), which consists of 8 items and requires respondents to score the difficulty of each item on a five-point scale. A final score is calculated for each scale (the sum of the individual scores divided by the number of items) and ranges from 1 to 5, with a higher score indicating a more severe handicap. |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| PADUA score | one month | The PADUA score is a classification of the neurophysiological severity of median neuropathy across the wrist. It is scored in 6 classes (1 to 6) with a higher score indicating greater neurophysiological damage to the median nerve |
| cross-sectional area of median nerve on ultrasound | one month | Describes the diameter of the median nerve |
| clinical provocative tests of the median nerve | one month | Tinel and Phalen's sign |
| Need for treatment of carpal tunnel syndrome | one month | number of injections in the carpal tunnel/splinting of the wrist |
| cross-sectional area of ulnar nerve on ultrasound | one month | describes the diameter of the ulnar nerve |
| amplitude of sensory nerve potential of the ulnar nerve | one month | describes the functional status of the sensory ulnar nerve |
Countries
Belgium
Contacts
PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATORGuillaume Parein, MD
Centre Hospitalier Valida
STUDY_DIRECTORPatricia Dessart, MD
Centre Hospitalier Valida
STUDY_CHAIRSamar M Hatem, MD,¨PhD
Centre Hospitalier Valida
Outcome results
None listed