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.
This disorder is often found in assembly line workers, writers, data entry workers, carpenters, and anyone else who either use vibrating machinery or use their wrists in a repetitive manner. Those who spend a lot of time on hobbies that affect the wrists like knitting, gardening and rowing may also see an increase in this problem. If you start to feel a tingling, numbness or pain in your hand, fingers and wrist, you may want to see your doctor. The exam will check for inflammation and your range of movement for your wrist. There are a few tests your doctor can do. Phalen's test attempts to recreate the symptoms by flexing your wrists.
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.
The wrist brace will help keep your wrist in a neutral position in an attempt to relieve the pressure on your median nerve. Some patients respond well to injections of corticosteroids to relieve the pain.
Severe cases of carpal tunnel syndrome often require surgery. During the surgery the ligament that runs from left to right over the median nerve is cut through a small incision in the hand. Once cut the pressure on the median nerve is relieved. This will usually solve the problem, but if permanent damage to the nerve has been done then there may be no solution.
Recovery from the surgery can take several weeks. After this time light duty at work is recommended and six weeks following the surgery the patient can return to normal duty. It is usually an outpatient surgery.
Alternatively, you may be prescribed a course of physical therapy in some cases. This is a course of therapy that may be more effective if more people were educated about it. During the therapy, a physical therapist will take you through some exercises and teach you how to do them at home in between sessions. Exercises and stretches can be very effective for treating this problem.
More Information:
People who develop carpal tunnel syndrome usually notice the symptoms gradually. It begins with burning, tingling or itching numbness in the palm of the hand and fingers, especially the thumb, index and middle fingers.If you begin to notice these symptoms, take action right away, as CTS will worsen unless habits are changed. Check this link easy carpal tunnel exercises that will help ease the pain of CTS.
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Article: A General Overview Of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Author: Tom Nicholson Publication Date: 2009-08-25 Total Views: 209 Word Count: 572 Category:Home /
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