Evaluation of the Prevalence of Hand and Wrist Complaints and ganglions in Welders

INTRODUCTION: Repetitive hand postures and movements can lead to some musculoskeletal system diseases in the hand and wrist. Welders carry risks for these diseases because of the nature of the work they are doing. It is planned to investigate the frequency of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS), Dupuytren Contracture (DK), Trigger finger (TP), DeQuervin Tendinitis (DQT) and 3 as ganglions in the welders.
METHODS: Twenty welders who applied to my hospital were recorded as age, duration of study, use of dominant in working.They were questioned for the symptoms of CTS, DK, TP, DQT and the severity of these symptoms. All patients were examined by an orthopedist. Patients with pathological physical examination findings were assessed neurophysiologically by electromyography (EMG)
RESULTS: A total of 20 welders, aged 30-54, all male, were included in the study. The mean age of the patients was 45.7 ± 6.5 years and the average duration of the working as welder was 24.7 ± 8.3 years. Sixteen patients (80%) had subjective hand and wrist complaints while 4 (20%) patients had no complaints. The mean duration of complaints was 2.3 ± 1 (1-5) years. 8 patients stated that their complaints increased when they were welding. Orthopedic examination revealed tenor atrophy in 5 patients, tinel positivity in 10 patients, phalen test positivity in 5 patients. Two patients were diagnosed as DQT, 1 as TP, 1as DD and 3 as Ganglions. Sixteen patients evaluated by EMG; unilateral mild CTS was detected in 3, unilateral moderate in 2, severe unilateral CTS findings in 1 patient, moderate in dominant, mild CTS in non-dominant hand of a patient who had bilateral complaints.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: CTS is a major cause of labor loss in welders, providing early diagnosis and treatment of the disease through increased awareness of the disease's symptoms in this occupational group will reduce labor force loss caused by the disease

Kaynakçýlarda El ve El Bileði Þikayetleri ve Ganglion Yaygýnlýðýnýn Deðerlendirilmesi

GÝRÝÞ ve AMAÇ: Tekrarlayýcý el postür ve hareketleri el ve el bileðinde bazý kas iskelet sistemi hastalýklarýna yol açabilir. Kaynakçýlar yaptýklarý iþin doðasý nedeniyle bu hastalýklar için risk taþýrlar. Kaynakçýlarda Karpal Tünel Sendromu(KTS), Dupuytren Kontraktürü(DK), Tetik parmak(TP) ve DeQuervein Tendiniti(DQT) ve ganglion sýklýðýnýn araþtýrýlmasý planlandý.
YÖNTEM ve GEREÇLER: Hastanemize baþvuran 20 kaynakçýnýn yaþ, çalýþma süresi, çalýþýrken dominant kullandýklarý elleri kaydedildi. Kaynakçýlar KTS, DK, TP, DQT semptomlarý ve bu semptomlarýn þiddeti açýsýndan sorgulandý. Tüm hastalar bir ortopedi uzmaný tarafýndan muayene edildi. Fizik muayene bulgusu olan hastalar elektromiyografi(EMG) ile nörofizyolojik olarak da deðerlendirildi.
BULGULAR: Yaþlarý 30-54 arasýnda deðiþen, tümü erkek, 20 kaynakçý çalýþmaya dahil edildi. Hastalarýn yaþ ortalamasý 45,7±6.5, kaynakçý olarak ortalama çalýþma süresi ise 24.7± 8.3 yýl idi. On altý hasta(%80) baþvuru da subjektif el ve el bileði þikayeti belirtirken, 4(%20) hastanýn þikayeti yoktu. Ortalama þikayet süresi 2.3±1(1-5) yýldý. 8 hasta þikayetlerinin kaynak yaparken arttýðýný belirtiyordu. Ortopedik muayenede ayný hastada bir ya da daha fazla bulgu olmak üzere 5 hastada tenar atrofi, 10 hastada Tinel, 5 hastada Phalen Testi pozitiflikleri saptandý. 1 hastada TP,1 hastada DK ve 2 hastada DQT ve 3 hastada ganglion kisti saptandý. EMG ile deðerlendirilen 16 hastanýn 3’ünde hafif, 2'inde orta, 1 hastada þiddetli tek taraflý KTS bulgularý, bilateral þikayeti olan bir hastada aktif olan elde orta diðer elde hafif KTS bulgusu saptandý.
TARTIÞMA ve SONUÇ: KTS kaynakçýlarda önemli bir iþgücü kaybý nedenidir, bu meslek grubunda hastalýðýn belirtileri hakkýnda bilinç düzeyinin arttýrýlmasý yoluyla hastalýðýn erken taný ve tedavisinin saðlanmasý hastalýðýn neden olduðu iþgücü kaybýný azaltacaktýr.