Prevalence of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (Cts) In Civil Shooters: Retrospective Neurophysiological Evaluation

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.