The cold hands prone to develop carpal tunnel syndrome

Abstract EN

-Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is commonest cause of hand paresthesia, usually idiopathic, occurs during middle or advanced age and attack the women more.

Recent Investigations evaluated the blood flow and emphasized the vascular cause of CTS in addition to median nerve compression.Recovery period (which is the real time of recovery from coldness stress confirmed by thermal imaging), of Normal hands were significantly lower (p<0.005) than that of cold hands probably because of hand vasomotor changes, suggested sympathetic neural pathology in CTS, this confirmed by Doppler study which indicated that the cold hands shows significant reduction (p<0.05) of peck systolic blood flow of the ulnar artery, and the radial artery which supplies the median nerve territory nervation area, as compare to corresponding Normal hands.

Thermal imaging is a diagnostic technique for measuring blood flow in CTS hands by determining the probable temperature changes and how these are affected by cold.

For all the study sample had been done a physical examination, Nerve Conduction Study (NCS), cold stress test, Thermal imaging, Doppler study.

31 % (44 of 142) study sample having constantly primary Cold hands, as 27% (18 of 66) CTS hands group, 4% (1 of 27) Normal hands group and 51% (25 of 49) hands having normal NCS but with complain (NWC) hands group.

Affected mostly the female at younger age, specially in NWC group, and this is maybe the early sings and symptoms of CTS, or due to different underling pathology, even that both groups with similar hand complain.