Date of Award

January 2019

Degree Type

Open Access Thesis

Document Type

Master Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

Exercise and Sport Science

First Advisor

Aaron D. Sciascia

Department Affiliation

Exercise and Sport Science

Second Advisor

Matthew J. Sabin

Department Affiliation

Exercise and Sport Science

Third Advisor

Joel Cormier

Department Affiliation

Exercise and Sport Science

Abstract

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is a neurological condition that may contribute to decreased grip strength, sensory function, activities of daily living, and many other negative impacts on an individual’s life. The purpose of this study was to assess whether patients who received endoscopic carpal tunnel release had better patient reported outcomes than patients who received limited-open carpal tunnel release. This study prospectively assessed patient reported outcomes such as pain, Patient-Specific Functional Score, Quick Disabilities of the Arm Shoulder and Hand Score, two-point discrimination, and hand grip-strength. This study demonstrated that there were significant differences within all subjective data measures (p≤0.017) from the preoperative time-period to most recent follow up for all subjects despite the surgical technique, however; there was no significant difference within the objective measures. There was no significant difference when comparing subjective or objective measures between the two operative techniques. These findings suggest that in both surgical techniques, patients feel that they are getting better when asked to rate their symptoms in a subjective manner. In other words, both surgical techniques improve patient perceived pain, function, and disability outcomes.

Download

Share

COinS