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A General Overview of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

Carpal tunnel syndrome is a common disorder that is caused by compression or swelling of the median nerve that located in the wrist. It can cause symptoms of tingling, numbness or pain in the palm of the hand and fingers. It is usually a condition that occurs gradually and worsens over time without treatment. There is no one cause that has determined for this disorder, but it has been linked to diabetes, arthritis, bone enlargement, reduced thyroid function, pregnancy, uremia, tendon inflammation, or amyloidosis.

It is believed that carpal tunnel syndrome may also be caused or made worse by repetitive motions. Assembly line workers, writers, data entry workers, carpenters, and anyone else who either use vibrating machinery or use their wrists in a repetitive manner have often been found to suffer with the disorder. Additionally, people who enjoy knitting, gardening and rowing have also been found to commonly suffer from carpal tunnel syndrome.

You may want to see a doctor is you start feeling tingling, numbness or pain in your hand or wrist. When you get checked the doctor will look for inflammation and the range of movement of your wrist. The doctor may also use Phalen’s test which tries to get symptoms to occur by recreating the flexing of your wrists. Another test that may be done is Tinel’s test which checks for sensitivity of the median nerve. The doctor will likely prescribe anti-inflammatory medication to reduce swelling in the nerve. It is not clear if this has an adequate solution, but patients have reported some relief when using anti-inflammatory medicines.

Another treatment your doctor may try is a wrist brace. Wrist braces are sold over the counter in drug stores or pharmacy areas of department stores. The brace helps to stabilize the wrist and keep it in a neutral position which helps relieve pressure on the median nerve. Sometimes corticosteroid injections have been found to help to relieve pain. Most of these types of treatments help people with early symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome.

In the event of a severe case of carpal tunnel syndrome, surgery may be required. If other treatments fail to work then surgery is usually the last option. An incision is made in the palm and wrist to cut the ligament that runs over the median nerve. Cutting this ligament helps to relieve pressure on the nerve. If no permanent damage has been done to the nerve then this can help relieve symptoms.

This usually relieves the problem unless there has been permanent damage done to the nerve. Recovery takes several weeks before the patient can return to light duty at work. By six weeks, they can return to normal duty. This surgery is usually done on an outpatient basis with a local anesthetic.

An alternative to surgery is often physical therapy. The therapy involves exercises that are taught to you by a physical therapist. You do the exercises at home between sessions. These exercises can be a very effective treatment and alternative to surgery.