Typing Proficiency Following Carpal Tunnel Release

Carpal tunnel syndrome is a condition in which the median nerve is compressed at the wrist. It causes such symptoms as numbness, tingling, weakness, muscle damage, and pain. If non-operative treatments do not work generally patients go on to carpal tunnel release surgery in which the transverse carpal ligament is released. After surgery patients usually return to work with no restrictions within six weeks. Patients often ask how soon they are able to return to typing after surgery, and what their typing ability will be like after surgery. Currently there are no studies that evaluate how long it takes for patient's typing skills to return to that of the pre-operative skill level. We would like to answer that question by comparing typing results from different time points including a baseline prior to surgery. We additionally seek to identify which patient characteristics are predictive of a faster return of typing proficiency. An additional innovative aspect of this project is the use of a web-based typing test that will be used in the assessment of patient typing proficiency. We will additionally use a web-based model for the collection of our survey data.