Recovery from symptoms after carpal tunnel syndrome surgery in males in relation to vibration exposure.

A follow-up study was conducted in forty-one men (fifty-five hands) treated surgically for carpal tunnel syndrome. The number of hours of vibration exposure and exactly which hand tool was used were recorded and each tool was categorized according to vibration level. The patients were divided into a low exposure and a high exposure group. Age at surgery, mean distal latency in the median nerve, and the duration between onset of symptoms and surgery were similar for the two groups. Only one patient experienced nocturnal paresthesia at follow-up in the low exposure group in contrast to twelve in the high exposure group. This corresponded to an age-standardized odds ratio (relative risk) of eighteen for nocturnal paresthesia after surgery in the high exposure group, with the low exposure group as referents. Previous vibration exposure may influence the recovery after carpal tunnel surgery.