Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

Carpal tunnel syndrome is a disorder that produces numbness, tingling, or weakness in the hand. This is due to the strain on your median nerve, which spans the length of your hand. All of your fingers receive feeling from the median nerve. Carpal tunnel syndrome can affect either one or both of your hands. Because of compressions induced by swelling inside the wrist, the syndrome can cause numbness, paralysis, and tingling on the side of your thumb.

In some people, it does get a lot worse with time and may even lead to dysfunctioning of the hand if left untreated. For this reason, it is imperative to diagnose and treat carpal tunnel syndrome at the earliest.

Some of the early symptoms of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome are:

1. Numbness, tingling, and pain in your thumb.
2. There will be a burning sensation in your arm.
3. Wrist pain at night that interferes with sleep
4. Weakness in the muscles of the hand

What are the Causes of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome?

The excess pain on the wrist and the median nerve is the cause of the pain in the carpal tunnel. This inflammation causes an underlying medical condition causing swelling in the wrist. Some common conditions linked to carpal tunnel syndrome include

1. Diabetes
2. Thyroid dysfunction
3. Fluid retention from pregnancy or menopause
4. High blood pressure
5. Autoimmune disorders.
6. Fractures to the wrist

When the wrist is repeatedly overextended, it can lead to the worsening of carpal tunnel syndrome. The repeated motion results in swelling and compression of the median nerve. This could be due to the reason:

1. Your wrist position when working on your keyboard or using your mouse.
2. Extended vibration exposure from utilising hand or power tools
3. Repeated wrist movements.

Risks of carpal tunnel syndrome

Women are three times as likely as men to suffer from carpal tunnel syndrome. People between 30 and 60 are more susceptible to carpal tunnel syndrome. Diabetes, high blood pressure, and arthritis are all illnesses that enhance your chances of having it.

Some lifestyle factors that influence the increase of carpal tunnel syndrome are

1. Smoking
2. High salt intake
3. Sedentary lifestyle
4. High BMI

People involved in jobs that involve the movement of their wrists are at a higher risk of being susceptible to carpal tunnel syndrome. Some jobs that require a lot of wrist movement are

1. Manufacturing
2. Assembly line work
3. Keyboarding occupations
4. Construction work.

Diagnosing carpal tunnel syndrome

Doctors will be able to diagnose carpal tunnel syndrome based on your medical history, physical exam, and nerve conduction testing. A physical examination includes a full check-up of your hand, wrist, shoulder, and neck muscles for any other cause of nerve pressure. In addition, they will assess the sensitivity in your fingers as well as the strength of the muscles in your hand.

Treatment of carpal tunnel syndrome

The treatment solely depends on the severity of the symptoms and if there is weakness in your hands.

Some of the non-surgical methods include

1. Avoid positions that overextend your wrist.
2. Wrist splints holding the hand in a neutral position
3. Mild pain medication to reduce inflammation.
4. Treatment of any underlying conditions.

The surgery involves cutting the band of tissues in the wrist that crosses the median nerve to reduce the pressure on your nerve.

Recovery

You will be asked by your doctor to move your hand above your heart and fingers to reduce swelling and stiffness right after the surgery. There will be swelling and stiffness after the surgery. The soreness in the palm may last from several weeks to months. Nighttime symptoms improve in some patients after the surgery.

Complications

Although complications are unavoidable in any surgery, doctors and surgeons will take every precaution to prevent those complications and dangers. A few complications of the carpal tunnel syndrome are:

• Bleeding
• Infection
• Wound healing issues
• Nerve aggravation or injury

Outcomes

The surgery itself will improve the symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome for most patients. However, recovery might be gradual, and it mostly might take a year for a complete recovery. If you experience maximal discomfort in your hands for more than two weeks, your surgeon will refer you to a hand therapist who will assist you in speeding up your rehabilitation.

How to prevent carpal tunnel syndrome.

1. Carpal tunnel syndrome can be prevented through changes in your lifestyle habits.
2. Treating conditions such as diabetes, high blood pressure, and arthritis at the earliest reduces the risk of developing carpal tunnel syndrome.
3. Pay close attention to the physical posture of your hand and avoid actions that cause your wrist to overextend.

People also ask

1. What are the five symptoms that can cause carpal tunnel syndrome?

• Numbness in your thumb
• Pain and burning that travels up your arm
• Wrist pain at night that interferes with sleep
• Weakness in the muscles of the hand

2. What will happen if carpal tunnel syndrome is not treated?

Carpal tunnel syndrome can cause weakness and lack of coordination in your thumb and fingers if left untreated.

3. How do you get the carpal tunnel to go away for good?

Some non-surgical ways to treat carpal tunnel syndrome are

• Icing it down
• Wrist splints
• Shaking it off
• Warm water treatment

The surgery mostly involves cutting the band of tissues in the wrist that crosses the median nerve to reduce the pressure on the nerve.

4. What are the causes of carpal tunnel syndrome?

The main cause of the pain in the carpal tunnel is due to the excess pain on the wrist and the median nerve. Inflammation is the cause of swelling. This inflammation causes an underlying medical condition causing swelling in the wrist. Some common frequent conditions linked to carpal tunnel syndrome include

• Diabetes
• Thyroid dysfunction
• Fluid retention from pregnancy or menopause
• High blood pressure
• Autoimmune disorders.
• Fractures to the wrist