Assessment of hand function after physical therapy in patients after surgery for carpal tunnel syndrome
Natalia Szlaska, Katarzyna Sołtysiak, Marta Woldańska-Okońska
N. Szlaska, K. Sołtysiak, M. Woldańska-Okońska – Assessment of hand function after physical therapy in patients after surgery for carpal tunnel syndrome. Fizjoterapia Polska 2019; 19(4); 48-56
Abstract
Introduction. The purpose of this study is to compare the function of the hand in patients with Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS) who having undergone prior surgical treatment in whom physiotherapeutic intervention was used only before, before and after or only after the surgery
Materials and methods. The group of 31 patients diagnosed with CTS following decompression of the median nerve by open decompression, were divided into three groups, based on rehabilitation received “only before”, “only after” and “both before and after” surgery. The nature of this study was a subjective assessment of each patient, in the form of a questionnaire, throughout each stage of pathology and rehabilitation, undertaken prior to and following surgical intervention. This questionnaire consisted of a visual-analog scale (VAS) as well as a modified Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand (DASH) Score. Statistical analysis was performed utilizing the Wilcoxon signed-rank, chi-squared and Kruskal-Wallis tests.
Results. In all cases, there was a significant improvement in results after open decompression. The greatest improvement was found among the “before and after” group of patients; the least in the “only after” group.
Conclusion. Surgical intervention in CTS is undertaken for the purpose of symptom relief, while physiotherapy prior to and following surgery further accelerates the rate of functional return to the operated hand. One of the cases examined skews below the positive statistical assessment of the remaining cases analyzed. One patient, whose disease state remained unchanged following surgery, is afflicted with muscular dystrophy.
Key words:
carpal tunnel syndrome, median nerve neuropathy
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