Shooting may impact the frequency of neuropathies in the upper extremity nerves or of cervical disc–root conflicts. This study was undertaken to assess whether shooting sports trained with a handgun by civilians may influence the risk factor for carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) and other neuropathies of the brachial plexus nerve fibers. Neurophysiological studies using surface electromyography (rEMG at rest and mcEMG during maximal contraction), electroneurography (ENG), and motor-evoked potential recordings (MEPs) were performed in a select population of nine shooters, which were rigorously screened as positive through a clinical examination for carpal tunnel syndrome and other brachial plexus neuropathies among a population of forty-two subjects, to confirm the existence of pathologies in the upper extremities. Increased muscle tension in rEMG and a simultaneous decrease in motor unit activity in mcEMG were recorded both in the proximal and distal muscles of the upper extremities more frequently in the shooters than in the healthy controls—volunteers. An ENG examination confirmed CTS in the shooting hand of four subjects (4/42; 9.5%), additionally revealing a significantly decreased F-wave at the C6–C7 levels in the dominant extremities of the shooting group in comparison to the control population (p = 0.05). All the examined subjects had revealed brachial plexus pathologies on both sides according to the results of the MEP recordings upon stimulation at the C4–C8 levels (various significant differences between the shooters and control group were found), and two had ulnar neuropathy in the wrist on the shooting side. It was concluded that shooting sports are a moderate risk factor for carpal tunnel syndrome and that they significantly influence the development of other brachial plexus neuropathies.

No abstract

Background: Shooting may impact the development of mononeuropathies in upper extremities nerves or cervical disc-root conflicts. The study aimed to assess whether shooting sports trained with a handgun by civils are a risk factor of carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) and other neuropathies of the upper extremity nerves.Method: Neurophysiological studies utilising electromyography (at rest-rEMG, during maximal contraction-mcEMG), electroneurography (ENG) and motor evoked potential (MEP) were applied in nine shooters (rigorously screened as positive using clinical examination for carpal tunnel syndrome among the population of 42) to confirm pathologies.Results: Increased muscle tension in rEMG and simultaneous decrease of motor units activity in mcEMG were recorded both in upper extremities of proximal and distal muscles in shooters than in healthy controls-volunteers, ENG examination confirmed CTS in shooting hand of four persons (4/42, 9,5%); all examined subjects suffered from brachial plexus pathologies on both sides (according to MEPs examinations) and two had ulnar neuropathy at the wrist on shooting side.Conclusions: Shooting is a moderate risk factor for CTS and significant for brachial plexus neuropathies.Trial registration: The Bioethics Committee of Poznan University of Medical Sciences approved the study (decision number 554/17 of 22 June 2017), performed following the Declaration of Helsinki.