If you are experiencing the following symptoms, then maybe you are suffering from Carpal Tunnel Syndrome: do you experience tingling of your thumb? How about your index, middle, and ring fingers? Are you always awaken by pain during the night? Does the pain go away by moving, shaking, or massaging such hand? Does the pain sometimes extend to the arm and the shoulder? Do you have numbness? Are there times when you feel uncomfortable using your hands you feel that your dexterity is lost?
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is the condition which affects the wrist and the hand of the patient. It involves a space in the wrist that is surrounded by bones and a rigid ligament. Such space is called the carpal tunnel.
The muscles and tendons are brought into action by moving the wrist and the finger. It is important that the tendons are lubricated to ensure optimal functioning. If the tendons are not lubricated, friction exists between the tendon and the tendon sheath which leads to swelling in that area. The inflammation damages the median nerve by causing formation of fibrous tissue which thickens the sheath and limits tendon movement.
The Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is common. Symptoms of the disorder were noted in 614 out of 982 supermarket checkers in one survey, and 52 in 700 employees of an electronic manufacturing plant. 117 in 788 meat handlers had surgery for carpal tunnel syndrome. A survey showed that an average of 65 carpal tunnel operations have been performed by 400 American hand surgeons each year.
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is usually seen in individuals who do a lot of repetitive hand motions, strong and tight gripping, vibration, and whose job entails that they undergo mechanical stress on their palm. Awkward hand positions will also predispose one to develop the disorder.
Those occupations that are at risk for developing carpal tunnel syndrome are as follows: cashiers, typists, knitters, cloth sewers and hairdressers. Those who work in the bakery who always do repetitive flexing-extending wrist movement while kneading may also develop the disorder eventually, along with those whose job entails they use a spray paint gun for hours and other vibrating hand tools. The disorder has been associated with several diseases. These include arthritis, tendon sheath tumors, hypothyroidism, gout, and Diabetes Mellitus. Wrist dislocations and fractures are also risk factors to developing Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. The prolonged use of oral contraceptive pills has been associated with increased risk for CTS, as well as menopause and pregnancy. These diseases and physiological events supposedly increase the risk for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome because they cause the swelling of the structures inside the carpal tunnel which compresses the median nerve.
Some anatomical variations such as the size and shape of the wrist may also increase the risk of getting CTS. Some symptoms experienced by patients with Carpal Tunnel Syndrome present with weakness of the hand, making it hard to use the hand in pinching or grasping. Dry skin may also be experienced.
Evaluating carpal tunnel syndrome always starts with evaluating the risk that the person's job has with CTS. The physician will ask about the patient's employment, what goes on in a typical day's work, and the frequency and regularity of the tasks the patient performs at work.
The physician will perform physical examination called the Tinel's test and Phalen's test. In performing the Tinel's test, the doctor will tap the wrist of the patient in the median nerve area and if the maneuver will result to tingling of the finger, it indicates damage to the median nerve. The Phalen's test is when the patient bends the wrist for a minute and he feels finger tingling. These two tests will help the physician greatly in the evaluation and diagnosis of carpal tunnel syndrome. This will also help the physician to evaluate if the patient needs surgery for the carpal tunnel syndrome.
The physician may also order for electromyography to measure how fast the median nerve transmits messages to muscles. This is a good indication of the status of the median nerve.
If you think that you are experiencing the symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome, it is best to seek consult from a qualified physician to evaluate the disorder.
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When you continually stretch and pull the muscles and nerves in the wrist and hand through excessive repeated motions at work or home, carpal tunnel syndrome may occur causing pain, numbness and weakness in the hands, fingers and wrists. This painful affliction is caused when the median nerve, which runs from the forearm into the hand, becomes pressed or squeezed at the wrist. This nerve controls sensations to the palm side of the thumb and fingers (although not the little finger), as well as impulses to some small muscles in the hand that allow the fingers and thumb to move.
Symptoms usually begin gradually, with frequent burning, tingling, or itching numbness in the palm and the fingers at night. The thumb, middle and index fingers are most commonly afflicted. As symptoms worsen, people might feel tingling during the day and a experience a decreased grip strength. In chronic and/or untreated cases, the muscles at the base of the thumb may waste away. Some people even lose their ability to distinguish between hot and cold through touch.
Carpal tunnel is most commonly caused by trauma or injury to the wrist that may cause swelling, such as sprain or fracture; work stress; repeated use of vibrating hand tools; fluid retention; or the development of a cyst or tumor in the carpal canal.
The risk of developing carpal tunnel syndrome is not confined to people in a single industry or job, but is common among those who work on assembly lines doing manufacturing, sewing, finishing, cleaning, and meat, poultry, or fish packaging jobs.
While there are a number of ways to treat carpal tunnel syndrome including exercise, medications and surgery, most doctors stress the importance of preventing it in the first place by replacing traditional office equipment and furniture with better, more agronomical styles and learning to perform specific stretching exercises; taking frequent rest breaks; wearing splints to keep wrists straight, and using correct posture and wrist positioning.
Trying something as simple as wearing fingerless gloves can help keep hands warm and flexible while redesigning workstations can enable a worker's wrist to maintain a more natural position during work and help alleviate the stress on muscles and joints that can cause injury in the first place.
Developing programs in ergonomics, the process of adapting workplace conditions and job demands to the capabilities of workers can all help to prevent carpal tunnel syndrome as well as a variety of other physical ailments.
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