Overview
Keywords: Carpal Tunnel Syndrome; upper extremity; musculoskeletal disease
Timeline: 2021-2022
Researchers: Dr. Joy MacDermid (Principal Investigator, Western University), Armaghan Dabbagh (student co-researcher, Western University), Dr. Ruby Grewal (Western University), Dr. Tara Packham (McMaster University)
Funder: CRE-MSD
Project type: Seed Grant
Partners: Roth McFarlane Hand & Upper Limb Centre, St. Joseph's Health Care
Sector/workplace type: Healthcare sector; sectors with repetitive hand movement and postures
Description
Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is a progressive condition that causes pain, pins and needles sensations, and hand muscles' weakness. Considering the high prevalence of CTS in working environments requiring highly repetitive, awkward, and forceful hand movements and postures, early identification of CTS is vital for early-stage prevention in workplaces.
Objectives/research question
- To evaluate the accuracy, reliability, and validity of an online tool to diagnose people with suspected CTS
- To determine if people respond differently depending on the severity of CTS
- To explore patients and clinicians’ interpretations of the online tool for early diagnosis and prevention of CTS
Methods
We will recruit injured workers with suspected CTS or other hand/wrist injuries from Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) Specialty Clinic in London, Ontario. They will be asked to fill in an online or paper-based survey (based on preference). The survey will include questions about their main hand condition, overall health, and expectations for diagnosis and management.
We will also contact clinicians with known expertise in hand conditions and will interview them. We will ask them about their experience in diagnosing CTS and how we can develop an online tool that is easily accessible and understandable.
Ultimately, analyzing the information obtained through both methods (patients with lived experience of CTS and expert clinicians) will enable us to develop an online method for early diagnosis and prevention of late-stage CTS.
Research team and roles
- Dr. Joy MacDermid: research design and inception, supervision and review of all stages, final approval of the project.
- Armaghan Dabbagh: research design and inception, ethics application, participants recruitment, data analysis, writing, and preparing a journal article.
- Dr. Ruby Grewal: recruiting the participants.
- Dr. Tara Packham: research design, participants recruitments, and writing of a journal article.
Collaboration and partnerships
Workers will be recruited from the Roth McFarlane Hand and Upper Limb Centre (HULC) at St. Joseph’s Health Centre based on their diagnosis of CTS or other hand conditions.
Knowledge transfer strategies
A report will be prepared by the researchers and will be publicly available on the official website of the Roth McFarlane Hand & Upper Limb Centre, St. Joseph's Health Care. Further, scientific articles will be written and published in open access journals to make them accessible for all target audiences.
Oral and poster presentations are planned for several scientific and non-scientific events and conferences.
Impacts and implications
It is anticipated that the findings of the study should provide information that contributes to prevent or delay the worsening of the symptoms related to CTS. Workplaces, healthcare providers, and insurance companies (for instance WSIB) might adopt this online tool as a new method for the identification of at-risk workers.