Carpal Tunnel Syndrome in Pregnancy: A Prospective Study

Abstract

In this prospective study, 56 women (2.3%) of 2,358 (47% nulliparous and 53% multiparous) delivered during a 12-month period at the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Malmö General Hospital, had symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome during pregnancy. All (33 nulliparous and 23 multiparous women) were examined, at the outpatient's maternity care unit and within 4-5 weeks from the time of debut of symptoms, by a specialist in hand surgery. At that time the most common symptoms were paresthesia and nocturnal pain. Twenty-nine had signs of reduced sensibility and 14 of them had a positive two-point discrimination test. All had generalized edema. Conservative treatment with splinting of the wrist at night made 46 out of 56 symptom-free. Of the remaining 10 women, 3 had to be operated on, whereas 7 received only conservative treatment, as the expected time for parturition was very close. One of them had to be operated on after delivery. In conclusion, carpal tunnel syndrome during pregnancy is most common in primiparas with generalized edema. Conservative treatment is sufficient for symptom relief in most women (80%) but a few cases need operative intervention to abolish the severe pain and to avoid disturbances of hand function.

Multicenter study on carpal tunnel syndrome and pregnancy incidence and natural course

“…Some authors previously reported the correlation between edema in pregnancy and CTS symptoms [7,22,23]. Our study confirmed this association and provides evidence never reported before of the correlation between edema and neurophysiologic picture.…”

Neuromuscular Diseases in Pregnancy

“…Factors that are suggested to predispose to CTS in pregnancy include weight gain, primiparity, age of the mother, and presence of generalized edema [23,24].Pregnancy-related CTS generally has a good prognosis and therefore is treated conservatively in most cases. Some of these diseases result from the physiologic changes of pregnancy and postpartum period, whereas others arise as complications of labor and delivery.…”

Carpal tunnel syndrome: A review

“…When the cause is transitory (e.g. pregnancy (73,74), contraceptive pills assumption etc.) or somehow removable (disthyroidism, sepsis etc.)…”