Thenar Atrophy secondary to Chronic Median Nerve Compression

These are my dad's hands. Note how small the muscles at the base of his left thumb are, as compared to the muscles of his right thumb.

As far as educating patients on the matter of carpal tunnel syndrome is concerned, here's my take on it
(for anyone interested in the latest clinical evidence, here are some references):

M.W. Keith MD, et al. AAOS Clinical Practical Guideline Summary Diagnosis of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. Journal of the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons, vol. 17, no. 6, June 2009.
http://www.aaos.org/Research/guidelin...

M.W. Keith MD, et al. AAOS Clinical Practical Guideline Summary Treatment of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. Journal of the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons, vol. 17, no. 6, June 2009.
http://www.aaos.org/Research/guidelin...

[see http://www.aaos.org/research/guidelines/guide.asp for any updates on the AAOS guides (free download)]

http://www.eorthopod.com/content/carp...

http://www.eorthopod.com/adult-hand-p...

B. Graham MD. The Value Added by Electrodiagnostic Testing in the Diagnosis of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. Journal of Bone & Joint Surgery (American Ed.), vol. 90-A, no. 12, December 2008.
Diagnostic Level 1 study

C.S. Cranford MD, J.Y. Ho MD, D.M. Kalainov MD, B.J. Hartigan MD. Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. Journal of the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons, vol. 15, no. 9, September 2007.

A.C. Hui, et al. Evidence-Based Orthopedics: Decompressive Surgery was better than Steroid Injection for Symptomatic & Neurophysiologic Outcomes in Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. Journal of Bone & Joint Surgery (American Ed.), vol. 88-A, no. 2, February 2006.

A.A. Gerritsen, et al. Evidence-Based Orthopedics: Open Carpal Tunnel Release is the Preferred Method of Surgical Treatment for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. Journal of Bone & Joint Surgery (American Ed.), vol. 84-A, no. 8, August 2002.

C. Shum MD, M. Parisien MD, R.J. Strauch MD, M.P. Rosenwasser MD. The Role of Flexor Tenosynovectomy in the Operative Treatment of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. Journal of Bone & Joint Surgery (American Ed.), vol. 84-A, no. 2, February 2002.
Therapeutic Level 1 powered study (with pre-run power analysis)

Category:

Education

Tags:

• median nerve
• thenar muscle
• carpal tunnel syndrome

[moonisveri]

i envy those i want antrophy too thats cool