The significance of work tasks for rehabilitation outcome after carpal tunnel surgery

Surgical treatment of carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is used over the world with reported good results. The long-term rehabilitation result in terms of postoperative difficulties in returning back to work after surgery, however, has not been carefully studied. Ninety-three consecutive patients under the age of 55 were followed up 2 years after they had carpal tunnel surgery. Thirty-eight patients had symptoms similar to the ones that caused the operation; 24 patients in the study had monotonous, repetitive jobs. Of those, there were 18 that still had symptoms in the operated hand and 12 were incapable of work, meaning they were on long-term sick leave or had early retirement pensions. This study indicates that further measures than surgery alone are needed to get some patients with CTS back to a long-term working life. This is most obvious in females who after carpal tunnel surgery, return to a job exposing them to repetitive, monotonous hand and arm movements.