ABSTRACT
Background: Carpal tunnel syndrome is the most prevalent compression neuropathy of upper extremity which, two of the most important risk factors of that are the female sex and manual works. In the model of international classification of function, disability and health, disease is an impairment, results in functional limitation. The goal of this study is to compare hand function of participants between various severities of carpal tunnel syndrome
Methods: In a cross-sectional study, during 6 months period of time, 30 housekeeper women with carpal tunnel syndrome, with the mean age of 47.03 years, were selected through simple sampling. They were assessed for hand function, by Purdue peg board test and Boston questionnaire, after that a professional practitioner had performed Nerve Conductive Velocity [NCV] test and identified the severity of their diseases. Then the data were analyzed with SPSS software, by Kruskal-Wallis test
Results: The mean of Purdue peg board test and Boston questionnaire scores in various clusters of carpal tunnel syndrome severity, were not different [P>0.05]
Conclusion: In this research, severity of electrodiagnostic findings of participants, with carpal tunnel syndrome, is not related to their performance and functional limitations
ABSTRACT
Rheumatoid Arthritis [RA] is a systemic and inflammatory disease of unknown etiology which is mostly characterized by inflammation of the synovial joints. Studies have proved that most people with RA avoid doing physical activities due to fear that it may worsen the pain or cause pressure on joints, resulting in decreased muscle strength and ultimately leading to disability of patients. We aimed to investigate the effects of conditioning exercises on the health status and pain in patients suffering from RA. In this randomized controlled clinical trial, we enrolled 66 women with confirmed RA referred to the rheumatology clinic of Hafez hospital, Shiraz, southwest Iran during May-July 2013. Balanced block randomization method was used to randomize the participants into case and control groups [two groups of 33 each].Data were collected using visual analog scale [VAS], Arthritis Impact Measurement Scales 2 short form [AIMS2-SF], and demographic questionnaire. After obtaining written informed consent, the participants in the case group were asked to participate in conditioning exercise programs including aerobic, isometric, and isotonic exercises and received a training booklet explaining the exercises that they could do at home after the intervention. There was a statistically significant difference between the health status scores of the patients in the case groups before and after the intervention [P=0.001]. The pain score also decreased significantly in the case group compared with the control group after the intervention [P=0.003]. We concluded that physical training programs, especially conditioning exercises, could improve the health status and reduce pain in patients with RA