Efficiency of Mirror Therapy After Carpal Tunnel Surgery

It is a self-administered questionnaire that assesses the severity and functional status of typical 24-hour symptoms of patients with Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS) during the last two weeks. The Symptom Severity Scale (SSS) consists of 11 questions evaluating the severity, frequency, duration and types of symptoms. The answers that can be given to each question are scored between 1 and 5. The SSS score is calculated by dividing the total score by the number of questions answered. A high score means that the symptoms are more severe. The Functional Status Scale (FSS) consists of 8 questions that assess how much the CTS affects daily life. The degree of difficulty in doing activities is scored between 1 and 5. The FSS score is calculated by dividing the total score by the number of questions answered. Higher score means less functional capacity. In this study, the outcome measure is assessing the change of functional activity and symptoms from pre-operative at 3 and 6 weeks.

It is used to evaluate patients' hand and finger skills. The pegboard is placed in the middle of the body. It is desirable that 9 wooden pins be placed randomly in the 9-hole wooden block as fast as possible, and then the pins are removed from the wooden block and placed in the storage compartment one by one. These times are measured and recorded with a stopwatch. A total of 20 seconds or more is considered a "loss of skill".

The sense of the distal phalanges of the 1st, 2nd and 3rd fingers, the proximal phalanges of the 2nd and 3rd fingers on the palm of the hand and the tenar region will be assessed. When the patient's eyes close, the monofilament is done progressed from the thinnest monofilament to the thicker monofilament, respectively. The assessment starts with the monofilament is perpendicular to the surface and pressure is applied until the angle is 45 degrees, wait for 1.5 seconds at this position. When at least 2 out of 3 applications differenciate, this value records.

The severity of pain and paresthesia symptoms of the patients will be assessed using the 10 cm Visual Analogue Scale. Before the assessment, patients instruct that "0" for "no symptoms", "10" represents "the most severe pain that could be felt" and should mark the point that best describes the symptom. The patient's rest, activity and night pain in the last week will be questioned separately. To evaluate the paresthesia, the most severe paresthesia felt by the patient in the last 1 week will be questioned and it will be asked to mark the place that best expresses paresthesia on the scale. Marked points measure by a ruler and record in centimeters.