Association Between Clinical Severity of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome and Physical Characteristics, Including Body Mass Index, Total and Segmental Body Composition

Background: Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is pressure on a nerve in your wrist. It causes tingling, numbness and pain in your hand and fingers. You can often treat it yourself, but it can take months to get better. This study evaluated the body composition of individuals with mild to severe carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) alongside healthy controls to assess the associated risk factors, namely obesity and elevated body mass index (BMI). Methods: Overall, 160 participants were recruited, including 80 CTS patients referred to the Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Research Center of Imam Reza hospital and 80 healthy controls within a year. The CTS group underwent comprehensive evaluation by a physical medicine specialist, examining physical parameters. CTS in patients was diagnosed using the Phalen’s test, a positive Tinel sign, and electromyography-assisted examination. Additionally, the Boston Symptom Severity Scale and Boston Functional Status Scale Questionnaire were applied to assess the severity of CTS symptoms and their impact on daily functioning. Results: The mean body weight and BMI of the participants in the CTS and control groups were 83.49±11.71 and 33.76±3.76, as well as 70.78±8.29 and 28.44±3.44, respectively. The CTS group exhibited a significantly higher percentage of body fat, soft lean mass, and total and segmental (arm) mass of body fat (MBF) compared to the control group. The severity of clinical symptoms in CTS patients revealed no significant correlation with their BMI. There was a statistically significant correlation between MBF and Boston functional status scores (r=0.317, P=0.025). Conclusion: In general, our findings demonstrated that CTS patients had significantly higher BMI, total BPF, and arm segmental fat percentage than healthy controls.