What Is Carpal Tunnel Syndrome?

By Ada C. Ezeani, MS, OTR/L, Owner

ACE Therapeutix

. https://acetherapeutix.com/

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What Is Carpal Tunnel Syndrome?

Carpal tunnel syndrome is a repetitive motion disorder. Common symptoms include numbness, tingling, pain and weakness in your wrist and hand. Carpal tunnel syndrome is a very common condition that is caused by a compressed nerve in the carpal tunnel, which is a narrow passageway on the palm side of your wrist.

Carpal tunnel syndrome symptoms usually start gradually. The thumb, index, middle or ring finger are the main fingers that are affected. The tingling sensation can travel from your wrist up your arm. There may be weakness in the wrist and fingers, and you may have a tendency to drop objects that are in your hand. This could also be due to numbness. It is very important for early diagnosis and treatment, because this condition worsens over time without treatment. It is important to see your physician so that you can receive an examination that may involve X-Rays, MRI, electrophysiological testing or ultrasound.

Conservative treatment for carpal tunnel syndrome may involve wearing a wrist splint to immobilize the wrist to minimize pressure on the nerve and help alleviate symptoms. If that does not help, icing of the wrist or anti-inflammatory medications often helps alleviate the symptoms. If symptoms persist the physician may refer the patient to occupational therapy or physical therapy. The occupational therapist can fabricate a custom wrist splint for the client as well as use modalities to relieve pain and increase range of motion. The occupational therapist will educate the patient on what daily activities can exacerbate their symptoms. The physical therapist will also use modalities to reduce pain and inflammation as well as provide a combination of manual therapy and stretching exercises to improve symptoms.

Lastly, only a small percentage of patients require surgery for carpal tunnel syndrome. Surgery is usually indicated when the patient is not responding well to the conservative non-surgical treatments. The patient may also be experiencing severe pain that is negatively affecting their performance of activities of daily living. The procedure that is most commonly performed by the surgeon would be the carpal tunnel release surgery. This is done with a small wrist incision or endoscopic technique. Both procedures have a common goal of relieving pressure on the median nerve. It is very common for the patient to receive occupational therapy and sometimes physical therapy 1-2 weeks post op for increasing wrist and finger range of motion, reduce swelling and pain as well as strengthen the hand and wrist.

If you or someone you know are experiencing the symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome, it is imperative that you address them as soon as possible to avoid surgery.