Carpet Weavers and Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS)

Introduction: Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS) is the most common compressive neuropathy in occupational medicine. It may be presented with numbness, tingling, and motor weakness of the hand. Repetitive hand finger motions, repeated extreme bending of the wrist as well as forceful gripping, and repeated forces on the base of the palm and wrist are occupational risk factors associated with CTS. This study was conducted to evaluate occupations of patients underwent operation for CTS in Kashan (2001-3).

Materials & Methods: 75 subjects with CTS for whom operation had been performed from 2001 to 2003 were studied retrospectively. Age, sex and occupation of the subjects and their address and phone number obtained from hospital records. Additional data on their job types and daily working duration were collected by face-to-face interview.

 Results: 66 of the patients (88%) were female and 9 (12%) male. Mean age of women was 43± 20 years. 64 (97%) of women were carpet weaver, and 47(71%) of them have worked more than 8 hours per day. They were weaving carpet for 20± 7 years. Seven of the men were labor and their tasks included forceful gripping.

Conclusion: According to findings of this study CTS should be considered as a common occupational disease in carpet weavers. As carpet weaving is a traditional and common profession in Iran, further researches on relationship between CTS and carpet weaving is highly recommended.