Carpal tunnel syndrome in fibromyalgia patients – A crucial factor for their functional impairment

Abstract

Fibromyalgia (FM) is a diffuse, chronic pain syndrome associated with tender body areas and somatic complaints. A high prevalence of undetected carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) in patients with FM has been reported and it seems to affect their functional level. This study was designed to compare between the presence of CTS in FM patients and control subjects and to find out if the severity of CTS is correlated with the functional impairment questionnaire (FIQ) score. The study was carried out on 100 females, divided into two groups: 40 patients with fibromyalgia, their ages ranged from 20 to 45 years and 60 healthy controls, their ages ranged from 20 to 42 years. All subjects were subjected to full history taking, full locomotor examination, calculation of body mass index (BMI) and electrodiagnosis for CTS. Patients were asked to complete the FIQ. FM patients had a significantly higher frequency of CTS as compared to the control group. Moderate CTS was more frequent among the patients. There was a highly statistically significant correlation between the severity of CTS and the FIQ score. Also there was a highly statistically significant difference as regards the FIQ score between the two subgroups of patients. CTS is more frequent in patients with FM than the normal population. Correlations between the severity of CTS and the FIQ score prove that CTS is one of the main causes of impairment in patients with FM.