title: Hand and wrist complaints in pregnancy.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Hand and wrist complaints can decrease the quality of life of pregnant women, which can occur or aggravate during pregnancy and advance to chronic state if left untreated. The purpose of this study was to describe hand and wrist complaints in relation to pregnancy and assess their significance in pregnancy.
  
  
  METHODS
  In a prospective cross-sectional study, 383 participants were randomly selected from among pregnant women on or over 28 weeks of gestation, attending the primary care maternal health clinic in a university hospital. The prevalence and severity of hand and wrist complaints were assessed using the Boston Carpal Tunnel Questionnaire (BCTQ). The symptomatic pregnant women were consulted by an orthopedist. The specific diagnoses of the patients were made based on patient history and physical examination.
  
  
  RESULTS
  According to BCTQ scoring 258 (67.4 %) pregnant women were symptomatic. The diagnoses were as follows: asymptomatic 125 (32.6 %), nonspecific symptoms 138 (36 %), tendinitis 80 (20.9 %), carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) 39 (10.2 %) and cubital syndrome 1 (0.3 %). There was no association noted between the diagnoses and numbers of pregnancies, occupational status, age, gestational weeks, weight gain or body mass index (BMI) (p > 0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The prevalence of hand and wrist complaints is high in pregnant women. All pregnant women should be investigated for hand and wrist complaints in routine antenatal checks to ensure good life quality during pregnancy and for avoiding these complaints advancing to chronic state. Further studies are needed to evaluate the effect of musculoskeletal systems disorders in pregnancy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan University School of Medicine, İslampaşa Mah. Şehitler Caddesi No: 74, 53100, Rize, Turkey, gulsahbalik@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Gülşah
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Balık
authors.forename: Mehmet
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sabri Balık
authors.forename: Işık
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Ustüner
authors.forename: Mehmet
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kağıtcı
authors.forename: Figen Kır
authors.initials: FK
authors.lastname: Sahin
authors.forename: Emine Seda Güvendağ
authors.initials: ES
authors.lastname: Güven
mesh_terms: D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D058070:Asymptomatic Diseases; D002349:Carpal Tunnel Syndrome / Q000175:diagnosis*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D020430:Cubital Tunnel Syndrome / Q000175:diagnosis*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008487:Medical History Taking; D008875:Middle Aged; D010808:Physical Examination; D011247:Pregnancy; D011248:Pregnancy Complications / Q000175:diagnosis*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D052256:Tendinopathy / Q000175:diagnosis*; D014953:Wrist; D055815:Young Adult