Carpal tunnel syndrome is most often associated with the overuse of your hands and wrists. While tired, sore hands and wrists may be one particular sign of the condition, carpal tunnel syndrome is an incredibly severe condition that requires treatment and adjustments to prevent nerve damage.
What Is Carpal Tunnel Syndrome?
Carpal tunnel syndrome most often affects people who work all day with their hands. However, the signs and symptoms of this condition go beyond your hands, causing numbness, tingling, or weakness up through your arm to the shoulder and even causing a focused pain or discomfort in your wrist or the palm of your hand.
What Causes Carpal Tunnel Syndrome?
The condition is caused by pressure or irritation on the median nerve. The median nerve is a nerve in your arm that goes from your forearm through your wrist and into your hand.
This nerve is responsible for much of the sensation and movement of your fingers and your thumb – all except your little finger. The condition affects more women than men because the size of a woman’s carpal tunnel is usually smaller than in a man.
Who Gets Carpal Tunnel Syndrome?
People whose jobs require repetitive motion, such as typing or manipulating tools and instruments, tend to be at risk of developing carpal tunnel syndrome. Because of this, secretaries, writers, hair stylists, musicians, and assembly-line workers are some of the most commonly affected professionals who can develop carpal tunnel syndrome.
And carpal tunnel syndrome isn’t only caused by activity. People who are obese, suffer from rheumatoid arthritis, are diabetic, or have an irritated median nerve due to injury or illness can also develop carpal tunnel syndrome.
You can also temporarily be affected by it during pregnancy, but this should resolve itself after giving birth. If it is causing a lot of pain in a pregnant woman, she should seek medical attention to help relieve the issue.
Does Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Have a Cure?
If you are noticing signs of carpal tunnel disorder, it is important to seek medical attention and treatment to help stop the condition from becoming worse, and indeed to help it heal completely. The further it progresses, the more nerve damage will occur, causing further muscle cramping and general pain.
Your doctor will be able to advise you about treatments and therapies to help thwart carpal tunnel syndrome.
Possible treatments may include rest and immobilization. Your doctor will also recommend changes to your habits that are causing the carpal tunnel syndrome to continue worsening.
If that doesn’t help alleviate the condition, your doctor might consider giving you pain management injections. If those don’t help, you may discuss possible surgery to rectify and reverse the condition.
Carpal Tunnel Treatment and Orthopedic Specialists
If you suspect that you may be experiencing the signs and symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome, find out about your treatment options today.
Call the orthopedic surgeons and specialists at North Country Orthopaedic Group at (315) 782-1650 today to schedule an appointment for a detailed evaluation. You can also fill out our simple online appointment request form here. We look forward to helping you feel better so you can get back to the active, productive lifestyle you enjoy.
