Carpal compression test (Durkan's test)
For: Carpal tunnel syndrome
Compression of the median nerve in the tunnel at the front of the wrist. Causes tingling and numbness in the thumb, index and middle fingers, often at night.
A weak test on its ownWhat the numbers mean
- Positive result: a small shift: a positive result nudges the diagnosis up, but does not settle it.
- Negative result: a small shift: a negative result nudges the diagnosis down, but does not exclude it.
Source
MacDermid JC, Wessel J. Clinical diagnosis of carpal tunnel syndrome: a systematic review. J Hand Ther. 2004;17(2):309–319. Review summary (NCBI Bookshelf) · systematic review
Figures as they will appear in Rule It In, Rule It Out (Trokos, forthcoming). If a newer or better study changes them, this page changes with the book. Figures last updated from the book on 2 October 2026.
Get the book for how to do and read each wrist and hand test with published figures, and which carpal tunnel test to trust
This page gives the published figures. Rule It In, Rule It Out adds how to do this test, what counts as positive, how to read the result, and, where studied, whether combining it with other tests helps.
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One study, one test, once a month
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