Quantification of behavioral consequences of carpal tunnel syndrome: Insights from biomechanical analysis of grasping and manipulation

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS) is known to affect manual dexterity. Electrodiagnostic tests are often used to quantify the extent of damage mild to severe) of the median nerve. However, these clinical measures of median nerve damage cannot be used to quantify the extent of hand functional deficits. To address this question, several recent studies have been conducted to quantify the behavioral effects of CTS on patients'ability to perform grasping and dexterous manipulation. These studies have used biomechanical analyses to identify functional deficits in hand control due to sub-optimal sensorimotor integration caused by reduced tactile sensitivity at a subset of the digits. We review published studies and present novel findings about the effects of CTS on patients' sensorimotor deficits. These deficits are revealed by tasks that require the ability to integrate sensory feedback with motor commands for coordinating digit forces and position. The findings of this research have shown that chronic median nerve compression affects the ability to coordinate preprogrammed and feedback-driven control for effective and efficient force adaptation in multi-digit grasping.