Sometimes we feel a tingling sensation in the morning. When we get up from bed it feels like our hands are weak. It’s difficult to hold something. Whatever we hold falls down from hand. Sometimes it’s very difficult to wash clothes. Sometimes we feel a decrease in the sensation of the hand.
If these things are happening to you, you might be suffering from carpal tunnel syndrome. It’s an extremely common condition. Experts estimate that around 3 out of every 1,000 people in the U.S. experience carpal tunnel syndrome each year. Similar statistics are found in India too. Carpal tunnel syndrome usually develops slowly. You might only experience minor symptoms at first that may get worse over time.
What happens in it?
A carpal tunnel is a tunnel in our wrist in which the primary nerve of the hand otherwise known as the median nerve passes. It’s like a tunnel road through a mountainside, but instead of making room in the rock for cars, it’s a passageway in your bones that lets soft tissue, and nerves pass through it to reach your hand. Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) happens when something irritates or puts extra pressure on the median nerve that runs through your carpal tunnel. The median nerve is the prime mover of your hand. It helps you move your forearm and gives feeling to most of your fingers and hands (except the little finger and half of the ring finger). If it’s damaged or pressed against the walls of your carpal tunnel, it can send extra or incorrect feelings to your hand and wrist.
What are the symptoms of it?
People usually first notice symptoms at night. When you wake up pain or tingling starts. Over time, the symptoms may start affecting you during the day, especially if you do the same kind of motion a lot at work like typing, writing or using tools. Sometimes moving hands also causes a shock-like sensation in the hand.But the disease progresses day by day.
Carpal tunnel syndrome can make your wrists, hands and fingers feel very uncomfortable. It may feel like pinpricks or like your fingers or hands “fell asleep.” You may also feel numbness that makes you want to shake your hands like you’re flinging water off them. Some people warm their hands to make them active.
Later significant problems arise. The person feels difficult to catch hold tightly to any object. The power of the hand decreases. Some people with carpal tunnel syndrome feel like their hands and grip are weaker than normal. Sometimes hands and fingers feel clumsy and it becomes difficult to button and unbutton, do fine work, write, draw etc. A shock-like sensation is felt in the palm. Later in the disease the hand loses sensation. Many times the patient feel pain in hands and shoulders.
Why does it occur?
There are many factors which cause CTS.
Mechanical factors: Overuse of wrists, trauma, fracture, arthritis etc cause narrowing of the tunnel.
Edema: Any cause which increases the swelling of the median nerve causes entrapment. Hypothyroidism, any neural sheath tumor or swelling of nerves cause it. Diabetic people do suffer more.
Pregnancy: It’s a common factor causing CTS.
Idiopathic: Sometimes the tunnel is small from birth. Some people have genetic history.
What to do if you are facing these symptoms?
The first treatment is to reduce the works which causes excessive flexion and extension of hands. That causes excessive pressure on the carpal tunnel causing entrapment of the median nerve.
Medication: Visit a neurologist for these symptoms. After proper diagnosis many medicines are there.
SPLINT: Using splints helps early recovery.
Physiotherapy: Do physiotherapy daily. It will help.
Intervention: Many procedures are there which helps in pain alleviation. Advance pain therapies are done by neurologists and pain physicians.
Surgery: Refractory cases need surgical therapy for advance management.
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