Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is a pain in the hand caused by compression of the Median Nerve, a nerve that starts at the neck and travels down the arm and forearm to the hand.

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is a fairly common ailment, and about 5% of the population of the United States suffer from it at some point in their lives.

In roughly a third of the cases improvement happens spontaneously, ie without treatment, over the course of a year. Women are more prone to suffering from it than men. Other categories of people at a higher risk of experiencing it, are obese people and people who work with a lot of vibration as with a pneumatic drill operator.

Symptoms

A burning feeling, a tingling a feeling of numbness are usually the initial symptoms, then a general ache starting with the forearm and extending to the upper arm can follow. Sometimes, pain can be felt in the hands or in the wrists. Sometimes it becomes difficult to grip anything. There can be a general loss of strength. Some doctors believe that Carpal Tunnel Syndrome can be triggered by repetitive movements, but this is not proven.

Treatments

It’s better to diagnose carpal tunnel syndrome early to try and prevent symptoms worsening. It’s important to take regular breaks to rest your hands and apply cold packs in order to reduce swelling.

Nonsurgical Therapy

If treated early, these methods can help to improve the pain and discomfort given from carpal tunnel syndrome:

Wrist Splinting — this is a splint that holds your wrist in place while you sleep and can help to relieve feelings of numbness and tingling during the night.
Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) — these medications can help to relieve the pain from carpal tunnel syndrome. Ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin IB, etc.) can help to temporarily stop the symptoms but do not improve the condition.
Corticosteroids — these injections will help to decrease inflammation and swelling in the hand, and removes pressure from the median nerve. Your doctor will inject a corticosteroid, for example, cortisone to relieve pain.

Surgery

If your symptoms and pain are severe and your carpal tunnel syndrome hasn’t responded to other treatments then surgery may be recommended. Having surgery will relieve pressure by slicing the ligament that is causing pressure on the median nerve. There are two different techniques for carpal tunnel syndrome surgery:

Endoscopic surgery — this procedure uses a telescopic-like device which has a tiny camera on it called an endoscope so the surgeon can see into your carpal tunnel. They will then slice the ligament through one or two smaller incisions on your hand or wrist. This type of surgery might leave you with less pain than that of open surgery, especially in the first day or weeks afterwards.
Open surgery — in this procedure your surgeon cuts an incision into the palm of your hand where the carpal tunnel is and then slices through the ligament in order to free the nerve.

After the surgery and during the recovery process, the ligament tissues grow back together gradually and leave more room for the nerve which reduces the potential for carpal tunnel syndrome symptoms and pain.

Things to do at Home

For temporary relief you can do some things yourself in your own home until you are able to visit a doctor for medication or have surgery.

Make sure to take regular breaks from actions that involve using your hands, like typing and writing.
If you are overweight or obese, attempt to lose weight.
Exercise your wrists by rotating them and stretching your palms and fingers.
Take pain relief in the form of ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin IB, etc.) or naproxen sodium (Aleve).
Wear a wrist splint at night

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