Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

What is Carpal Tunnel Syndrome?

Carpal tunnel syndrome is a physical problem in which the hands become numb and tingling. Carpal tunnel syndrome is caused by a pinched nerve in the carpal tunnel (a tube from the wrist to the arm).

Symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome depend on the texture of the wrist, pre-existing diseases, and the use and operation of the hands.

Proper treatment can bring relief to the tingling and stiffness, and it also brings back the strength of your hands and wrists and hands.?

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Symptoms

What are the symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome?

Carpal tunnel syndrome usually begins slowly. Occasional numbness and tingling of the thumb, forefinger, and middle fingers are the earliest symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome.

Carpal tunnel syndrome can also cause discomfort in the wrist and palm. Symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome can be as follows:?

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Tingling or sensing emptiness

Tingling may be felt in the hands and fingers and may also become numb. Often the thumb and index finger, middle finger, or ring finger is affected, although it does not have any effect on the small finger. Sometimes there is an electric current like feeling in these fingers.

This sensation can be felt from your wrist to your whole hand. Often these symptoms are felt while holding the car’s steering wheel, phone, or newspaper. Such a tingling or sense emptiness can also open your sleep.

Many people shake their hands vigorously to get rid of this feeling. Over time the numbness of the hands becomes a permanent problem.?

Weakness

Weakness can be felt in hands. Weakness can also leave things out of your hands. This may be due to the numbness of the hand and weakness in the muscles of the thumb.

When to contact the doctor

If symptoms associated with carpal tunnel syndrome continue to occur, which disrupt normal activities and sleep, contact a doctor immediately. If left untreated, it can cause permanent damage to nerves and muscles.?

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Causes

Why does carpal tunnel syndrome occur?

Carpal tunnel syndrome is caused by pressure on the median nerve.

This middle pulse travels through a tube (carpal tunnel) of the wrist to the arm. This leaves the little finger and senses the thumb and the palm side of the fingers. It also provides neurological signals concerning the movement of the muscles of the lower part of the thumb.

Any pressure or discomfort on the middle pulse can cause carpal tunnel syndrome. A rupture of the wrist can cause the carpal tunnel to become narrower and cause vein discomfort as in the inflammatory condition caused by Rheumatoid Arthritis.

In many cases, there is no single cause of carpal tunnel syndrome. Such a problem can arise due to many reasons.

There are several reasons for carpal tunnel syndrome. Although they are not directly associated with carpal tunnel syndrome, they can increase the likelihood of it occurring or can damage the middle pulse more.?

These risk factors can be as follows:

Body Structure

The fracture or movement of the wrist, or arthritis that deforms the small bones of the wrist, affects the radius of the carpal tunnel and pressurizes the middle pulse. Those whose carpal tunnel is small have an increased risk of carpal tunnel syndrome.

Gender

Carpal tunnel syndrome is quite common in women. This is because the size of the carpal tunnel in women is smaller than that of men. And those who have this problem, their carpal tunnel may be smaller than other women.

Neurological Damage Conditions

Chronic diseases such as diabetes can damage other nerves, including the median pulse.

Inflammation

Inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis can affect the surrounding layers of the tendon of the wrist (the tissue connecting the bone to the muscle) and pressurize the middle pulse.

Obesity

Obesity increases the risk of carpal tunnel syndrome.

Imbalance in body fluids

Deposition of liquids anywhere in the body, can create pressure on the carpal tunnel and cause problems in the middle pulse. It commonly occurs during pregnancy and menopause. Carpal tunnel syndrome that emerges during pregnancy recovers on its own.

Other health problems

Obesity, issues such as thyroid disorders and kidney failure increase the risk of carpal tunnel syndrome.

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Workbench

If you work in vibrating tools or assembly lines where the wrists have to bend repeatedly

Although scientific evidence is contradictory, these factors are not directly associated with carpal tunnel syndrome.

Much research is based on the relationship between computer use and carpal tunnel syndrome. However, no concrete evidence has been found that excessive use of computers may present a risk of carpal tunnel syndrome, although it may cause different types of pain in the hands.?

Prevention of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

What are the preventive measures for carpal tunnel syndrome?

There is no proven way to prevent carpal tunnel syndrome but can reduce pressure on wrists and hands in the following ways:

Lower the pressure and keep your grip loose

If you have to use the computer keyboard continuously for work, and then press its button lightly. If you have to write for a long time, then write with a large size pen that has a soft place to hold it. And keep in mind that the pen moves without interruption.

Relax the hands for a while

Spread and rotate your wrists and hands every once in a while. Also, if possible, do some other work in between, primarily when you use a device that has a tingling or a lot of emphases.

Keep The Postures Of The Wrists Fine

Avoid turning your wrists straight up or down. The comfortable middle pose is the best. Keep the keyboard equal to or below your elbow.

Correct Your Sitting Posture

If the position is not correct, it can cause your shoulders to lean forward, your neck and shoulder muscles may become smaller, which will put pressure on the neck veins. This may affect your wrists, fingers, and hands.

Change Your Computer Mouse

Make sure your computer mouse is comfortable and does not strain your wrist.

Keep Your Hands Warm

If you work in a frosty environment, you may feel more pain and stiffness in your hands. If it is not possible to control the temperature at work, wear gloves without fingers and keep your hands and wrists warm.?

Diagnosis of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

How is carpal tunnel syndrome diagnosed?

To confirm carpal tunnel syndrome, the doctor may ask you some questions and ask you to have some tests done:

Symptom details

The doctor will look at your symptoms, for example, the middle pulse does not cause a sensation in the little finger, so the symptoms associated with that finger may be due to some other disease rather than carpal tunnel syndrome.

Symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome usually occur when holding the phone, newspaper or steering wheel, or during sleepless nights.

Physical examination

The doctor will perform a physical exam. They will examine the ability to feel the fingers of the hands and the strength of your hand muscles.

X-rays

There may be other causes of pain in your wrists, such as arthritis or bone fractures. Therefore, to confirm whether you have carpal tunnel syndrome or not, the doctor may also ask you to have an x-ray done.

Electromyogram

It examines the minimal amount of electric current produced in the muscles. During this examination, the doctor inserts a fine-needle electrode (a device through which electricity is transmitted to an organ) into a particular muscle to assess the activity of the said electrical current during muscle contraction and dilation. Muscle damage is detected, and it helps in bypassing any other type of problem.

Nerve conduction study

This is a type of electromyogram examination in which two electrodes are placed on the skin. A slight electric shock is given in your middle pulse to know whether the current in your carpal tunnel has decreased.?

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Treatment

What are the treatments for carpal tunnel syndrome?

Treat it as soon as symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome are seen.

Take a break in between work a little to give your hands a rest. Avoiding work that increases these symptoms by applying ice on your hands to reduce swelling can help.

As a treatment, a plank or hard bandage can be tied, medications can be taken, and operations can be performed. If these symptoms have not occurred for a long time (less than ten months) and have not become very severe, then strict bandaging or other traditional treatment may benefit.

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Non-operative treatment

If carpal tunnel syndrome is detected in the beginning, then the problem can be reduced without operation:

Wrist bandage

Tighten your wrist at bedtime, then the tingling in the night can reduce the position of numb hands. This can be a beneficial remedy in pregnancy.?

Medications to reduce pain, inflammation, etc.:

NSAID medicines like ibuprofen can be relieved for some time in pain caused by carpal tunnel syndrome. However, there is no concrete evidence as to whether these drugs help in curing carpal tunnel syndrome.

Corticosteroids:

To reduce pain, doctors may inject corticosteroids such as cortisone. Corticosteroids reduce inflammation, burning, etc., thereby reducing the pressure on the middle pulse. Corticosteroid injections are more beneficial than their tablets.

If carpal tunnel syndrome has occurred due to rheumatoid arthritis or other types of arthritis, treatment of arthritis can provide relief. However, it has not been confirmed yet.

Operation

If the symptoms are severe and are not cured by other treatments, then an operation may be an appropriate option. In the carpal tunnel operation, the ligament that pressures the middle pulse is cut.

Endoscopic Operation

Doctors use a small telescope-like instrument to examine your carpal tunnel internally. The doctor makes two small incisions on your bud to cut your ligament. This reduces pain in the early days after the operation compared to open operation.

Open Operation

The doctor cuts the ligament by making an incision on the palm over the carpal tunnel.

Talk to the doctor before surgery about the risks and benefits of both techniques. The dangers of operation can be something like this.

• Incomplete cutting of the ligament
• Wound infection
• Scars
• Damage to any vein or blood cells

After the operation, the ligament tissue is slowly re-formed, giving the vein more space. It may take several months for the inner wound to heal, although the upper skin wound is cured within a few weeks.

Alternative Treatment

Alternative medicine may also be beneficial to correct carpal tunnel syndrome. You may have to do some experiments in search of a suitable treatment for you. But before taking any complementary or alternative treatment, please consult your doctor.

Exercise

Exercises designed to strengthen, stretch, and balance the upper body and joints can help reduce pain and improve the grip of the hands.

Hand Therapy

According to early studies, some types of hand therapy can provide relief in carpal tunnel syndrome.

Ultrasound Therapy

Very intense ultrasound is used to increase the temperature in the affected part of the body to reduce pain and cure the disease.

Note: Depression Cure does not provide any type of medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.

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