Pianists with carpal tunnel syndrome: Conservative versus surgical treatment

We studied retrospectively 18 patients, all professional pianists or advanced piano students, who had presented with carpal tunnel symptoms in the past and had undergone surgical or conservative treatments. We found that delayed diagnosis was more likely to lead to surgical treatment and that fear of diagnosis and fear of surgery prevented early treatment. Although surgical release was successful in 50% of the patients, re-education was essential to maintain good results according to long follow-up. Finally, medical practitioners are in a better position to help pianists when they make consideration of the demands and technical peculiarities of this profession.