ABSTRACT
Rempel (1995) reported on a series of in-vivo measures of carpal tunnel pressures during a wide variety of manual activities in many participants. It appears that wrist and finger posture as well as the force exerted affect the carpal canal pressure. It appears also that many work activities exceed the benchmark 30 mmHg pressure and many exceed the 60 mmHg level. Rempel et al. (1997) found that the effects of fingertip force on carpal tunnel pressure were independent of and greater than those due to wrist posture during a finger pressing task. Keir et al. (1998) determined that at the same fingertip force magnitude, a pinch grip created twice the carpal tunnel pressure than a simple finger press. This latter finding supports the epidemiological evidence that pinch grip activities are highly correlated to findings of CTS and tendinitis in the forearm. Full supination has also been shown to increase CTP (Rempel et al., 1998). Previously, Rempel et al. (1994) determined the effects of wearing a flexible splint on carpal tunnel pressure during a simulated supermarket checker/bagger task and found that the splints did not reduce pressures.
