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Connecting the dots...Migraine and Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

Recently news in the pain world has pointed to a possible connection between migraine headaches and carpal tunnel syndrome. These two chronic pain conditions that would otherwise seem unrelated, but this study out of Dallas, Texas suggest that people with carpal tunnel syndrome are more likely to suffer from migraine, and vice versa.  The study authors seem to think that there is some common neurologic or systemic risk factor, but that has yet to be identified.





Dr. Huay Zong Law and his colleagues at University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center surveyed about 26,000 Americans to collect data for this study.  Here are some interesting statistics that they gathered during the study:

Thirty four percent of those who reported having carpal tunnel syndrome also reported that they had migraine headache.  In those who do not have carpal tunnel issues, the incidence of migraine is about sixteen percent.  This means that the risk of migraine headache issues is 2.6 times higher for those who have carpal tunnel syndrome.

Conversely, those who reported having migraine were twice as likely to have carpal tunnel syndrome. Adjusting for other factors, the actual risk of carpal tunnel syndrome amongst migraine sufferers was determined to be 2.7%.




Eight percent of those who had migraine reported having both maladies; for those who did not report having migraine issues, the incidence of carpal tunnel syndrome was about three percent. The researchers also found the following to be especially important risk factors

  • Obesity
  • Smoking 
  • Diabetes
  • Female gender
The report concludes stating that nerve compression in the head and neck may be a mechanism by which migraine headaches are born. In similar fashion, carpal tunnel syndrome is also caused by compression of nerve-- but in this instance the nerves of the hand and wrist are affected. This suggests the possibility that nerve decompression by surgical release may be a future form of treatment for those who suffer the malady.

Sources:WebMD; Wikimedia
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