Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Part 2

The causes of carpal tunnel syndrome are many and include any condition that will narrow the carpal tunnel. Such conditions include:

Rheumatoid arthritis, menopause, diabetes, pregnancy (all these conditions lead to fluid build up and narrow the tunnel , thus compressing the nerve)

Repetitive use or injury of the wrist

Bad luck is often a cause of many medical disorders

The diagnosis of carpal tunnel requires a couple of tests to determine where exactly the nerve is being compressed. Once the diagnosis has been confirmed, you will be referred to a surgeon or a neurologist.

Treatment

Those individual who have minor symptoms should discontinue whatever they are doing which arouses their symptoms. This includes taking break from repetitive work and applying cold packs to reduce the swelling on the wrist. The other options include wrist splints, pain medications, injection of corticosteroids and surgery.

Wrist splints can help relieve the pain while one sleeps. Splinting is ideal for individuals with mild to moderate symptoms. Most individuals need some type of medications to relieve the pain.

When the symptoms progress and the pain is continuous, surgery may be the only option. Today, the surgery can be accomplished using a camera and a very small incision. However, surgery should never be the first choice of carpal tunnel. The surgery is purely elective and should only take place after other non surgical interventions have failed.

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Part 1

Carpal tunnel syndrome affects many individuals in North America. In recent years, the diagnosis of Carpal tunnel has been more frequently made and partly this is related to our lifestyle and work habits. The carpal tunnel is a narrow passageway on the frontal aspect of the wrist. This tunnel protects the major nerve to the hand and the fingers.

In some individual this tunnel can narrow down and compress the nerve. This typically results in numbness, pain and tingling in the middle 3 fingers. Fortunately, today we have excellent treatments for carpal tunnel syndrome which can relieve all the symptoms and restore normal wrist and finger function.

The symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome usually include the following:

tingling or numbness in the middle three fingers. These symptoms may occur while holding a phone or a grocery bag. Many people shake their hands to relieve the symptoms

pain which radiates to the wrist and arm also occurs as the disease progresses. The pain often worsens after repetitive use

weakness of the hands and a tendency to drop objects occurs as the disease worsens

when the disease is most advanced, most individuals will have atrophy of the muscles in the hand and continued numbness in the middle 3 fingers