Understanding Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
Carpal tunnel syndrome is a familiar condition that induces numbness, tingling, and discomfort in your hand and forearm. According to our orthopedic surgeon in Deltona, the condition happens when one of the primary nerves in your hand, your median nerve, gets compressed or squeezed as it traverses through your wrist.
In most individuals, carpal tunnel syndrome worsens over time. But in addition, if unaddressed for too long, it can permanently damage your hand, including loss of feeling in your fingers and frailty. For this cause, promptly diagnosing and treating carpal tunnel syndrome is essential.
Early signs can often be eased with straightforward measures like:
- Wearing a wrist splint during sleep
- Exercises to keep your nerve mobile
- Avoiding specific actions that exacerbate your symptoms
- A steroid injection into your carpal tunnel
If the stress on your median nerve persists, it can lead to nerve deterioration and exacerbating symptoms. A physician might suggest surgery to take pressure off the median nerve for some patients to prevent permanent damage.
Cause
A combination of factors causes most cases of carpal tunnel syndrome. Studies indicate that females and older individuals are more likely to develop the ailment.
Other risk factors for carpal tunnel syndrome are:
- Heredity. This is a significant factor. The carpal tunnel might be inherently smaller in some individuals, or there might be anatomic distinctions that alter the amount of space for the nerve, and these features can run in families.
- Repetitive hand use. Replicating the same hand and wrist movements or actions over a prolonged period may irritate the tendons in your wrist, inducing swelling that places pressure on the nerve.
- Hand and wrist position. Activities involving excessive flexion or extension of your hand and wrist for a long time can increase nerve pressure.
- Pregnancy. Hormonal shifts during pregnancy can induce swelling, resulting in nerve pressure.
- Health problems. Rheumatoid arthritis, diabetes, and thyroid gland imbalance are illnesses associated with carpal tunnel syndrome.
Symptoms
Signs of carpal tunnel syndrome can include:
- Numbness, tingling, burning, and discomfort — especially in the thumb, index, middle, and ring fingers. This frequently wakes sufferers up at night.
- Periodic shock-like sensations that radiate to your thumb, index, middle, and ring fingers
- Discomfort or tingling that can travel up your forearm toward your shoulder
- Weakness and clumsiness in your hand — this can make it challenging to complete fine movements, like buttoning your clothes.
- Dropping things due to numbness, weakness, or a loss of proprioception (cognition of where your hand is in space)
In most circumstances, the signs of carpal tunnel syndrome start gradually, without a distinct injury. Many individuals discover that their symptoms come and go at first. However, as the ailment worsens, signs may appear more often or persist for longer periods.
Night symptoms are prevalent. Because many individuals sleep with their wrists bent, signs may rouse you from sleep. During your day, signs often appear when carrying something for a lengthy period with your wrist bent forward or backward, like when operating a phone, driving, or reading a book. Many patients discover that moving or shaking their hands helps reduce their symptoms.
We hope this helps you better understand carpal tunnel syndrome. Contact us today for an orthooedic surgeon in Deltona.