title: Bilateral deficits in fine motor control and pinch grip force are not associated with electrodiagnostic findings in women with carpal tunnel syndrome.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  : The aim of this study was to analyze the differences in deficits in fine motor control and pinch grip force between patients with minimal, moderate/mild, or severe carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) and healthy age- and hand dominance-matched controls.
  
  
  METHODS
  : A case-control study was conducted. The subtests of the Purdue Pegboard Test (one-hand and bilateral pin placements and assemblies) and pinch grip force between the thumb and the remaining four fingers of the hand were bilaterally evaluated in 66 women with minimal (n = 16), moderate (n = 16), or severe (n = 34) CTS and in 20 age- and hand-matched healthy women. The differences among the groups were analyzed using different mixed models of analysis of variance.
  
  
  RESULTS
  : A two-way mixed analysis of variance revealed significant differences between groups, not depending on the presence of unilateral or bilateral symptoms (side), for the one-hand pin placement subtest: patients showed bilateral lower scores compared with controls (P < 0.001), without differences among those with minimal, moderate, or severe CTS (P = 0.946). The patients also exhibited lower scores in bilateral pin placement (P < 0.001) and assembly (P < 0.001) subtests, without differences among them. The three-way analysis of variance revealed significant differences among groups (P < 0.001) and fingers (P < 0.001), not depending on the presence of unilateral/bilateral symptoms (P = 0.684), for pinch grip force: patients showed bilateral lower pinch grip force in all fingers compared with healthy controls, without differences among those with minimal, moderate, or severe CTS.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  : The current study revealed similar bilateral deficits in fine motor control and pinch grip force in patients with minimal, moderate, or severe CTS, supporting that fine motor control deficits are a common feature of CTS not associated with electrodiagnostic findings.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy, Rehabilitation and Physical Medicine, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, Alcorcón, Spain.
authors.forename: Ana Isabel
authors.initials: AI
authors.lastname: de la Llave-Rincón
authors.forename: César
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Fernández-de-Las-Peñas
authors.forename: Marta
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pérez-de-Heredia-Torres
authors.forename: Almudena
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Martínez-Perez
authors.forename: Marie Carmen
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Valenza
authors.forename: Juan A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Pareja
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D002349:Carpal Tunnel Syndrome / Q000503:physiopathology*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D016001:Confidence Intervals; D004568:Electrodiagnosis; D005260:Female; D018737:Hand Strength / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D009048:Motor Skills / Q000502:physiology*; D010147:Pain Measurement; D052581:Pinch Strength / Q000502:physiology; D011434:Proprioception / Q000502:physiology; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology*; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D012720:Severity of Illness Index