Vibration thresholds as a function of age and diagnosis of carpal tunnel syndrome: a preliminary report

To determine if vibration thresholds vary independently with age and carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS), 61 subjects, including 27 diagnosed with carpal tunnel-induced neuropathy, and 34 non-CTS controls, ranging in age from 20 to 65 years, were tested using the Optacon, a device used to assess vibration thresholds. No statistically significant interaction was found between the age and diagnosis factors. Results did confirm the findings of previous studies that vibration thresholds increased with age and that thresholds were elevated within the CTS group, compared to the controls. These results indicate that age-adjusted norms for vibration threshold data need to be developed. Without age-adjusted norms, screening programs for CTS that rely on vibration threshold data are likely to generate high levels of false positives, particularly for workers over 40 years of age.