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Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS), a painful wrist median nerve compressive neuropathy, is the root cause of 90% of all peripheral entrapment neuropathies. Traditional rehabilitation techniques are effective in improving upper limb function, but they are time-consuming and costly, frequently requiring the use of specialized facilities that are not always widely available. The incorporation of technological tools like virtual reality and haptic devices into healthcare systems is receiving attention from researchers and professionals in the development of novel alternatives to medicine. These tools may be useful for the creation of creative rehabilitation systems. Based on recent scientific research, virtual reality (VR) applications appear to be the newest and most advanced form of technology; however, VR is not as new as one might expect. Virtual reality (VR) is currently one of the most promising technologies for testing physical limitations in training, education, and rehabilitation applications, as well as for improving user experience and quality of life. Data sources: Three databases search (PubMed, Google scholar, Web of science). Review Methods: Studies included validate that Virtual Reality is included. High-quality trails are included in the study. Discussion: Virtual reality users are exposed to expansive and inclusive environments, as well as vivid illusions of a virtual computer-generated environment in which both realistic and implausible events can occur. As a result, users may act as if they are in a physical environment, completely unaware that they are in one that is virtual. Conclusion-VR has been shown in studies to be effective for hand rehabilitation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carpal tunnel syndrome is a neurological disorder resulting in loss of sensory and motor functions in the hand. The median nerve passing through the carpal tunnel is squeezed by the surrounding tissues. In contrast to finite-element modeling, existing clinical methods for determining carpal tunnel syndrome do not demonstrate pressure in the median nerve. Patient-specified knowledge of pressure in the median nerve is a key factor in carpal tunnel syndrome. MRI and CT scans are used to build three-dimensional geometry of the carpal tunnel and index finger. The stress-strain state is obtained by finite-element modeling. The behavior of the soft tissues are considered hyperelastic and are described by the first-order Ogden constitutive model. The calculations are performed in the ANSYS software package. The results showed that with a slight flexion of the index finger, the median nerve experiences a pressure of 50 Pa. It has also been shown that dissection of the transverse ligament of the hand can lead to an increase in pressure in the median nerve up to 70 Pa. The model built in this study will make it possible to assess the influence of many other mechanical factors on median nerve compression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carpal tunnel syndrome occurs due to median nerve compression in the wrist and causes feeling of tingling, numbness and weakness in the affected hand. A repetitive movement of hand flexion and extension in a long period of time by culinary workers can cause this syndrome to develop. The prevalence of CTS in workers are high and still cause problem for workers and companies due to its bad impacts to decrease productivity and working capacity as well as increasing health care cost. This study aimed to determine risk factors related to the incidence of CTS. This research was an observational analytical study design with cross sectional approach (level of significance 5%) conducted among 75 culinary workers using accidental sampling technique. The data was analyzed by Chi Square for bivariate analysis and logistic regression predictive model for multivariate analysis. The results showed that most of subjects were diagnosed with CTS in 73.3% subjects and aged ≥40 years old in 46.7% subjects. Subjects had normal BMI (53.3%), ≥4 years of work period (53.3%), ≥8 hours of daily work duration (90.7%), high risk level of wrist working posture (58.7%). There was a significant relationship between age (p-value=0.045), BMI (p=0,020), work period (p = 0,029), daily duration of work (p = 0.013), to CTS. The result of multivariate analysis showed work period (OR = 6.528) was the most influencing factors to CTS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Medicine is used to prevent the patients from disease and to maintain a good health. Medicine is commonly available in tablets and capsules and both types are packed in aluminum pack. When patient returns the unused or expired medicine to pharmacy in government clinic and hospital, pharmacist will separate the medicine from the pack before moving it to disposal factory. This study aims to investigate the current method used by pharmacist to separate the medicine and identify the work-related musculoskeletal disorder (WMSD) effect among them. A questionnaire survey was distributed to the pharmacist and pharmacist assistant in order to collect information. The result showed that all of them used hand manually to separate the medicine from aluminum pack. As consequence, they have high tendency to get carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) and spend a lot of time to complete the task. Thus, there is a necessity to design and develop a separation tool for tablets and capsules medicine from aluminum pack. Throughout process of user need identification, idea development, and prototype fabrication, a new tool can be operated to separate 4-6 packs of medicine depends on the size of pack either tablets or capsules at the same time. Previously, time to separate the medicine is 1-4 hours depends on the quantity of medicine but by using this new tool the time consumption can be reduced until 75%. The significance of the research is it may help to reduce work load of pharmacist then, prevent from WMSD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paperwork makes an analysis of the influence that the noises and the vibrations have on a biomechanical model on the human body at different frequencies. Besides the harmful influence on the hearing acuity, the noises have also a harmful effect on the organism through the appearance of some changes on the physiological balance. Driving the car generates noises and them being received by the driver is done consciously, with pathological implications long-term. The harmful effects of the noises are amplified by the mechanical vibrations made by the car or from the outside. In the case of drivers, some anatomical body parts, especially the hands, the feet or the spine are directly subjected to the action of the vibrations, which frequency varies from low frequencies (0 Hz to 2 Hz) to medium frequencies (2 Hz to 15-20 Hz) and to high frequencies (higher than 20 Hz). In the case of frequencies lower than approximately 2 Hz, the body behaves like a unitary mass. The resonance phenomenon appears between 4 and 6 Hz, in the “sat” position and between 5 and 12 Hz, in the “standing” position, with pathological implications like: the Raynaud Syndrome, the Carpal Tunnel’s Syndrome or some various bone and joint disorders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Studies have shown that Filipino agricultural operators are exposed to vibrations greater than the daily exposure limit values, which puts risks to the operators. Additionally, there have been various studies abroad on the effects of vibration on the human body. With that, this study investigated the whole-body musculoskeletal disorder (MSD) symptoms experienced, the mean onset and severity of symptoms, the existence of vibration-related illness specifically Hand-arm Vibration Syndrome (HAVS), and analyzed the physiological effects of vibration and effects on functions of the hands and wrist to 100 Filipino farm operators from Tarlac and Laguna through a small group discussion. The study utilized the following questionnaires: Extended Nordic Musculoskeletal Disorder Questionnaire to measure the prevalence of whole-body MSD symptoms, average years before the onset and severity of symptoms; the Cold Intolerance Symptom Severity Questionnaire to analyze cold intolerance as the basis for the existence of HAVS; and lastly the Boston Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Questionnaire to examine the physiological symptoms in the hands and wrist and the effects of vibration to the hand functions. Responses were collected and analyzed, which revealed that whole-body MSD symptoms are prevalent in all the covered body parts with a minimum prevalence of 12% in the elbows, a maximum prevalence of 38% in the lower back, and the earliest onset of MSD symptoms in the shoulders after a mean of 9.04 years of operating agricultural machines. Results further revealed that 13% of the participants have mild and severe cases of cold intolerance and that operators experience the physiological effects of vibration to hands and wrist which also manifested in the occurrence of diminished hand functions. The result of the study can be a basis for creating policies to reduce the hazards of agricultural machines to the operators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ergonomic design on a computer mouse is very important to prevent injury in the arm called mouse elbow. Mouse elbow injury is a minor injury that occurs due to a hand position error when using a computer mouse. Musculoskeletal Disorder (MSD) is experienced by workers who interact with computers intensively where fifty percent of mouse users experience MSD. Studies show that mouse use can cause several injuries such as: Carpal Tunner Syndrome and other MSDs. Designated injury is caused by the bending position of the wrist with a radical angle coupled with the overall movement of the fingers during the operation of the computer mouse. This research aims to design an ergonomic computer mouse by considering the MSD injury factor so that computer mouse users can anticipate the occurrence of MSD. The principle of Anthropometry parallel to design thinking became the method used in this research. The results of this research are in the form of mouse design concepts that can accommodate the prevention of Mouse elbow injury. The contribution of this research is exploring the optimal degree of freedom on elbow during the movement of using mouse computer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carpal tunnel syndrome presenting as symptoms of the patients is mainly expressed as pain and paresthesia. It is an emerging issue to be considered regarding occupational health and job diseases. All we know form medicine, the first three fingers pain and numbness are the most common symptom of the Carpal Tunnel Syndrome that are caused by the increased pressure within carpal tunnel. In medical literature, there are many researches about carpal tunnel syndrome. In this research our aim is not to consider the theoretical background of carpal tunnel syndrome. Leaving these issues to the medical doctors and researchers in medical field, here we will try to make clear how carpal tunnel syndrome is a big risk factor in the workplace. In this study, the Questionnaire which is proposed by author was applied to all 82 employees who are suffering from carpal tunnel syndrome. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is a common entrapment neuropathy. Nerve conduction studies (NCS) have been used as a standard for CTS diagnosis. Complementing NCS, ultrasound imaging provides anatomic information on pathologic changes of the median nerve, such as the reduced median nerve mobility. Motion of median nerve is dependent on mechanical characteristics, and body movements. The purpose of this study was therefore to measure transverse sliding patterns of the median nerve during fingers flexion and extension in ultrasound B-mode images for distinguishing healthy from CTS subjects, and to investigate any correlation between NCS severity and median nerve motion. Transverse ultrasound images were acquired from 19 normal, 15 mild, and 10 severe CTS subjects confirmed by NCS. In two-second acquisition, their fingers were initially in natural position; the median nerve was then moved toward the ulnar side and radius side in fingers flexion and extension, respectively. The displacements of the median nerve were calculated by the multilevel block-matching pyramid algorithm and averaged. All the average displacements at different acquisition times were then accumulated to obtain cumulative displacements, which were curve-fitted by polynomial function. To differentiate the normal from CTS cases, the R-squared, curvature, and amplitude of the fitted curves were computed, to evaluate the goodness, variation, and maximum value of the fit, respectively. Compared to the CTS patients, the normal subjects had higher R-square, curvature, and amplitude estimates. The three parameters were then inputted to a fuzzy c-means algorithm to classify normal cases and CTS ones. The diagnostic efficiency had an accuracy of 93.2%, a specificity of 100%, and a sensitivity of 88%. Further study includes measuring mechanical strain and stress at different neural sites to provide elasticity of the median nerve. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article focuses on a study which investigated measures of impingement on the median nerve by tendons within the carpal tunnel. Local deformations of the media nerve which are apparent with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans were quantified. The study found that comparing shape chains and percentage of nerve adjacency are good measures for determining median nerve impingement by adjacent tendons.