Carpal tunnel syndrome occurs when the median nerve, the nerve that runs from the forearm into the hand, becomes compressed at the wrist. This compression may cause numbness and tingling in the hand and wrist, as well as sharp, shooting pain through the wrist and up the arm.

Carpal tunnel syndrome occurs when the median nerve, the nerve that runs from the forearm into the hand, becomes compressed at the wrist. This compression may cause numbness and tingling in the hand and wrist, as well as sharp, shooting pain through the wrist and up the arm. According to a recent article in the journal Neurology, the number of new diagnoses of carpal tunnel syndrome has increased dramatically, most notably in the 1980s .

Physicians from the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota and their colleagues performed a medical record review in Olmsted County, Minnesota and found that, from 1981-2005, 10,069 individuals were diagnosed with carpal tunnel syndrome. Diagnosis was more common in women than men, and the number of cases diagnosed each year increased from 258 per 100,000 in the period from 1981-1985 to 424 per 100,000 in the period from 2000-2005. The physicians also noted that, while younger individuals were more likely to seek medical attention for carpal tunnel syndrome in the mid-1980s, the number of elderly people seeking treatment for carpal tunnel syndrome increased in the 1990s.

The discomfort associated with carpal tunnel syndrome can lead to lost work days and loss of function. As older adults are more likely to present with more severe disease and are more likely to undergo carpal tunnel surgery, the physicians conclude that the impact of carpal tunnel syndrome may have significant health policy implications.

Source

Neurology 2008;72:33-41.