title: Comparative study on the stiffness of transverse carpal ligament between normal subjects and carpal tunnel syndrome patients.
abstract: The purpose of this study was to compare the stiffness of the transverse carpal ligament (TCL) between healthy volunteers and carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) patients using sonoelastography. We studied 17 healthy volunteers (four men, 13 women; range 37-84 years) and 18 hands of 13 patients with CTS (three men, ten women; range 41-79 years). Thickness and elasticity of the TCL were evaluated by sonoelastography. Elasticity was estimated by strain ratio of an acoustic coupler, which has a standardized elasticity as a reference medium, to the TCL (AC/T strain ratio). The AC/T strain ratios of the healthy volunteers and the CTS patients were 6.0 and 8.1, respectively (p = 0.030). The AC/T strain ratio showed a positive correlation with the duration of symptoms in the CTS patients (p = 0.035, r = 0.50). We concluded that increased stiffness of the TCL could be one of the causes for CTS.
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Hideaki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Miyamoto
authors.forename: Toshiki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Miura
authors.forename: Yutaka
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Morizaki
authors.forename: Kosuke
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Uehara
authors.forename: Takashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ohe
authors.forename: Sakae
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tanaka
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002349:Carpal Tunnel Syndrome / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology*; D004548:Elasticity; D054459:Elasticity Imaging Techniques; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008023:Ligaments, Articular / Q000503:physiopathology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged