What is Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

Sitting at your desk and doing your work. Suddenly you can't hit the keyboard anymore. You can't stand the pain and numbness in your wrists. You try to stretch your hands little bit, but the pain is not disappearing. You are probably struggling with carpal tunnel syndrome - a serious nerve disorder of your wrists. This neurotic disorder is mostly seen on people that are frequently using their hands (computer work, some sports, vibrational machines, etc.). This hard to treat nerve defect is effecting only hands and wrists and can be really painfull. The most frequent symptoms are pain, numbness and tingling of your wrists and fingers. Frequently the pain is worse during the night, so you can have sleeping problems if you don't take some pills. If you underestimate it and move to advanced stage of this disorder you will notice decreased fine dexterity movements of the fingers. Often the muscle on the thenar starts to shrink and you should see a doctor immediately. The carpal tunnel consists of the the median nerve and the flexor tendons that are responsible for movement of your fingers. This disorder is associated with many aspects and factors. Anything that is pushing the nerve in the carpal tunnel can be a cause for the development of the syndrome. Sometimes genetics plays its role and some people are born with smaller carpal tunnel. Some other minor factors are injury to your wrists, fracture, rheumatoid and many more. However, not always can be the exact cause identified.

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Symptoms

Symptoms usually start slowly, with frequent burning, tingling, or itching numbness in the palm of the hand and the fingers, especially the thumb and the index and middle fingers. Several carpal tunnel patients say their fingers feel useless and swollen, even though little or no swelling is apparent. The signs and symptoms often first show up in one or both hands during the night time, since many people today sleep with flexed wrists. A man or woman with carpal tunnel syndrome may wake up feeling the need to "shake out" the hand or wrist. As symptoms get worse, people might possibly feel tingling during the day.



Decreased grip strength may make it difficult to form a fist, grasp small objects, or perform other manual duties. In chronic and/or untreated cases, the muscles at the base of the thumb may waste away. Some people are not able to tell between hot and cold by touch. Carpal tunnel syndrome may be a temporary condition that completely resolves or it can persist and progress.

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How is it diagnosed?

The medical diagnosis of carpal tunnel syndrome is suspected based on the symptoms and the distribution of the hand numbness. Evaluation of the neck, shoulder, elbow, pulses, and reflexes can be performed to exclude other conditions that can mimic carpal tunnel syndrome. The wrist can be examined for swelling, warmth, tenderness, deformity, and discoloration. Often tapping the front of the wrist can reproduce tingling of the hand, and is referred to as Tinel's sign of carpal tunnel syndrome. The diagnosis is highly suggested when a nerve conduction velocity test is abnormal. This examination requires measuring the rate of speed of electrical impulses as they travel down a nerve. In carpal tunnel syndrome, the impulse slows as it crosses through the carpal tunnel. A test of muscles of the extremity, electromyogram (EMG), is sometimes performed to exclude or detect other conditions that might mimic carpal tunnel syndrome. Blood tests may be performed to identify medical conditions associated with carpal tunnel syndrome. These tests include thyroid hormone levels, complete blood counts, and blood sugar and protein analysis. X-ray tests of the wrist and hand might also be helpful to identify abnormalities of the bones and joints of the wrist.

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