Podcast 583:  Raise Your Hands if You Have Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

Contributor: Aaron Lessen, MD

Educational Pearls:

• Hand raising test: a simple but effective tool to diagnose carpal tunnel 
• Patients hold their hands over their head and if symptoms of carpal tunnel develop within 2 minutes, it is considered positive, meaning they likely have carpel tunnel
• Symptom included numbness and dull pain in the distribution of the median nerve
• Treatment for carpal tunnel in the ED can include splinting in a neutral position and oral steroids with possible follow up for steroid injections or surgery

References

Padua L, Coraci D, Erra C, et al. Carpal tunnel syndrome: clinical features, diagnosis, and management. Lancet Neurol. 2016;15(12):1273-1284. doi:10.1016/S1474-4422(16)30231-9

Ma H, Kim I. The diagnostic assessment of hand elevation test in carpal tunnel syndrome. J Korean Neurosurg Soc. 2012;52(5):472-475. doi:10.3340/jkns.2012.52.5.472

Summarized by Jackson Roos, MS4 | Edited by Erik Verzemnieks, MD