Abstract
Objective
To evaluate median nerve excursion during conventional nerve gliding exercises and
newly developed exercises, primarily comprising abduction and adduction of the fingers.
Design
Descriptive study.
Setting
Anatomical dissection facility.
Cadavers
Random sample of upper extremities of fresh whole-body human cadavers (N=18). Cadavers
with neuromuscular diseases in the medical record or anatomic variations were excluded.
Intervention
Conventional and new nerve gliding exercises.
Main Outcome Measures
Distances between markers applied into the nerve and markers in the periosteum were
visualized with ultrasound and measured. Comparisons of nerve excursions between different
exercises were performed.
Results
Conventional exercises led to substantial nerve gliding proximal to the carpal tunnel
and between the head of the pronator teres (12 and 13.8mm, respectively), but it led
to far less in the carpal tunnel (6.6mm). With our novel exercises, we achieved nerve
gliding in the carpal tunnel of 13.8mm. No substantial marker movement could be detected
during lateral flexion of the cervical spine.
Conclusions
Although conventional nerve gliding exercises only lead to minimal nerve excursions
in the carpal tunnel, our novel exercises with the abduction and adduction of the
fingers result in substantial longitudinal gliding throughout the arm. Clinical trials
will have to deliver the clinical evidence.
Keywords
List of abbreviations:
CTS (carpal tunnel syndrome), SSCT (subsynovial connective tissue), US (ultrasound)To read this article in full you will need to make a payment
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: August 24, 2015
Footnotes
Disclosures: none.
Identification
Copyright
© 2015 American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
