CARPAL-TUNNEL SYNDROME - CASE-STUDY OF AN INTERCOLLEGIATE ATHLETE

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS) is an increasingly common nerve entrapmen t disorder which is a direct result of humans subjecting their hands t o hours of repetitive motion. This case's subject was a 21-year-old fe male intercollegiate volleyball setter diagnosed with CTS. The study's purpose was to monitor the progression of her symptoms' severity over the observation period and to demonstrate that surgery may not always be the answer. Analysis revealed that only task abstention and not co nservative medical treatments is effective in symptom retardation. Rel evance to industry Industrial specialization and the use of personal c omputers has resulted in an exponential increase in the diagnosis CTS. Due to the concern of controlling worker's compensation cost, emphasi s by ergonomists, industrial engineers and managers has concentrated o n the work place. However, many CTS cases are not occupationally relat ed. This case examines an exceptionally motivated student athlete. Ind ustrial application drawn from this study is that motivated workers ca n and sometimes will perform with CTS. Ergonomists and industrial mana gers should not allow motivated employees to abuse themselves but take every opportunity to implement better ergonomically designed tasks an d work stations.