Hand Shape Related to Carpal Tunnel

Does the shape of your hands determine if you will get carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS)? It might. A study by researchers in Greece, reported April 29 by Ann Lukits in the Wall Street Journal, found that people with short, wide hands and square-shaped wrists might be more prone to getting carpal tunnel syndrome.

Researchers in Greece compared the hand and wrist characteristics of 50 people with CTS and 50 people who did not have CTS. Each group contained 40 women and 10 men. All of the subjects were close to 50 years of age and were employed in a variety of occupations. Using ultrasound tests the researchers measured the size of the carpal tunnel passageway, through which the median nerve passes, and also measured nerve-impulse speed.

Investigators found that hand ratio, a measure calculated by dividing the length of the hand by the width of the palm, was significantly smaller in patients with CTS than it was in the control subjects. Wrist ratio, the depth of the wrist divided by the width at the base of the hand, was significantly larger in CTS patients.

When researchers examined the carpal tunnels and median nerves within the tunnels they found that CTS patients had a more square-shaped passageway and a larger median nerve than did the control subjects. Lukits quoted researchers as suggesting that the limited free space around the nerve during wrist movements and external pressure on an already enlarged nerve could traumatize the nerve, causing CTS. Lukits reported that carpal tunnel patients were also shorter and had a higher BMI (body mass index) than did the controls.