The prevalence of carpal tunnel syndrome in adapted Sports athletes based on clinical diagnostic.

BACKGROUND: Electrical studies are often used to diagnose carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS). We noticed differences in results when we considered the clinical tests. OBJECTIVES: What's the prevalence of CTS in adapted sports athletes based on clinical diagnostic? Is there any relationship between the presence of symptoms and the use of wheelchairs, the type of sport practiced, dominance and how long the sport had been practiced? HYPOTHESIS: The prevalence of CTS in adapted sports athletes is close to that of the general population. STUDY DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. METHODS: We evaluated adapted athletes. Data collection included the dominant side, type of sports, sports practice time, wheelchair or non-wheelchairs users. To evaluate intensity of pain in the hands, we used the numerical pain rating scale (NPRS). For the evaluation of nocturnal paresthesia, we asked athletes about this symptom's presence. We evaluated the presence of paresthesia through the Tinel signal and Phalen test. For this study's purpose, we characterized CTS by the presence of two or more signs or symptoms. RESULTS: We evaluated 72 athletes, 144 hands. No athlete reported pain in the hands or nocturnal paresthesia. Fifteen athletes had at least one sign or symptom in a total of 21 hands. The presence of two concomitant clinical symptoms occurred in 4 (6%) right hands and 3 (4%) left hands. The presence of more than two concomitant clinical symptoms did not occur in any hand. We did not find a relation between the presence of signs and/or symptoms with the type of adapted sport, wheelchair use, the dominant side and the time of sports practice. DISCUSSION: Reviewing the literature we observed that the most researchers used electrodiagnostic studies to determine the diagnosis of CTS on persons with disabilities, without considering physical examination. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of CTS in the disabled athletes was 6 in 72 (8%). LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: III.