Evaluating the Impact of Trauma on Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Onset and Postsurgical Recovery: A Retrospective Study in Orthopedic Practice

Q3 Medicine

Journal of Hand Surgery Global Online Pub Date : 2025-06-19 DOI:10.1016/j.jhsg.2025.100774

Ashley A. Ellingwood BS , Uzoma Nwakibu MD , Maya Sternberg PhD , Obinwanne Ugwonali MD

{"title":"Evaluating the Impact of Trauma on Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Onset and Postsurgical Recovery: A Retrospective Study in Orthopedic Practice","authors":"Ashley A. Ellingwood BS , Uzoma Nwakibu MD , Maya Sternberg PhD , Obinwanne Ugwonali MD","doi":"10.1016/j.jhsg.2025.100774","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Purpose</h3><div>The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between previous trauma to upper extremities and the subsequent development of carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS). By comparing cases of traumatically induced CTS with idiopathic CTS, the study aims to evaluate differences in symptom severity and postsurgical treatment outcomes. Additionally, the study explores other factors associated with higher pain scores and longer lengths of care.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>A retrospective study was conducted on patients who underwent carpal tunnel release surgery by a single hand surgeon from January 1, 2014 to October 1, 2020. Pre- and postoperative care duration and pain levels, assessed using a visual analog scale, were the primary outcomes. To analyze the predictors of pain levels and recovery time, unadjusted means were generated, followed by the development of a model to account for potential correlations and contributions.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>The study included 478 patients (324 women and 154 men) with a mean age of 53.2 years, all of whom underwent carpal tunnel release surgery. Patients with traumatic injuries had higher initial and final pain scores compared with those with nontraumatic causes. Notably, trauma was not a significant factor in the length of care model, despite its association with pain scores. Meanwhile, worker’s compensation was a factor associated with prolonged length of care.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusions</h3><div>This study demonstrates that traumatic injuries and other factors, such as worker’s compensation, gender, and race/ethnicity, significantly influence both pain levels and length of care in patients undergoing carpal tunnel release surgery. These findings emphasize that CTS can develop after trauma and is not exclusively idiopathic. Addressing various clinical and socioeconomic factors is essential for enhancing treatment effectiveness and managing expectations following surgery.</div></div><div><h3>Type of study/level of evidence</h3><div>Therapy/Prevention, Etiology/Harm; IV.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":36920,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Hand Surgery Global Online","volume":"7 5","pages":"Article 100774"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0000,"publicationDate":"2025-06-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Journal of Hand Surgery Global Online","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2589514125000945","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"Medicine","Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between previous trauma to upper extremities and the subsequent development of carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS). By comparing cases of traumatically induced CTS with idiopathic CTS, the study aims to evaluate differences in symptom severity and postsurgical treatment outcomes. Additionally, the study explores other factors associated with higher pain scores and longer lengths of care.

Methods

A retrospective study was conducted on patients who underwent carpal tunnel release surgery by a single hand surgeon from January 1, 2014 to October 1, 2020. Pre- and postoperative care duration and pain levels, assessed using a visual analog scale, were the primary outcomes. To analyze the predictors of pain levels and recovery time, unadjusted means were generated, followed by the development of a model to account for potential correlations and contributions.

Results

The study included 478 patients (324 women and 154 men) with a mean age of 53.2 years, all of whom underwent carpal tunnel release surgery. Patients with traumatic injuries had higher initial and final pain scores compared with those with nontraumatic causes. Notably, trauma was not a significant factor in the length of care model, despite its association with pain scores. Meanwhile, worker’s compensation was a factor associated with prolonged length of care.

Conclusions

This study demonstrates that traumatic injuries and other factors, such as worker’s compensation, gender, and race/ethnicity, significantly influence both pain levels and length of care in patients undergoing carpal tunnel release surgery. These findings emphasize that CTS can develop after trauma and is not exclusively idiopathic. Addressing various clinical and socioeconomic factors is essential for enhancing treatment effectiveness and managing expectations following surgery.

Type of study/level of evidence

Therapy/Prevention, Etiology/Harm; IV.

查看原文本刊更多论文

评估创伤对腕管综合征发病和术后恢复的影响：骨科实践的回顾性研究

目的本研究的目的是探讨上肢外伤与腕管综合征（CTS）的关系。通过比较外伤性CTS和特发性CTS的病例，研究旨在评估症状严重程度和术后治疗结果的差异。此外，该研究还探讨了与更高的疼痛评分和更长的护理时间相关的其他因素。方法对2014年1月1日至2020年10月1日行单手腕管松解术的患者进行回顾性分析。术前和术后护理持续时间和疼痛水平，使用视觉模拟量表评估，是主要结果。为了分析疼痛水平和恢复时间的预测因子，生成了未经调整的均值，然后开发了一个模型来解释潜在的相关性和贡献。结果该研究包括478例患者（324名女性和154名男性），平均年龄53.2岁，所有患者均接受了腕管松解手术。与非创伤性原因的患者相比，创伤性损伤患者的初始和最终疼痛评分更高。值得注意的是，尽管创伤与疼痛评分相关，但在护理时间模型中，创伤并不是一个重要因素。与此同时，工人的补偿是与护理时间长短相关的一个因素。结论：本研究表明，创伤性损伤和其他因素，如工人赔偿、性别和种族/民族，显著影响腕管松解手术患者的疼痛程度和护理时间。这些发现强调CTS可以在创伤后发展，并不完全是特发性的。解决各种临床和社会经济因素对于提高治疗效果和管理手术后的期望至关重要。研究类型/证据水平治疗/预防、病因/危害；4。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

求助全文

约1分钟内获得全文求助全文

来源期刊