If your job or the daily tasks you carry out puts strain on your hands and wrists, or lately you notice that you’ve been struggling more than usual to open a jar or carry your grocery bags, then we’re pretty sure there’s a clear explanation to what you’ve been experiencing.
You may have Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS).
CTS is an interesting condition and a great example that reveals that the site of the symptoms aren’t always where the problem lies. This is because the complications that cause CTS do not originate from the area where you’ve been getting the symptoms like numbness, subsequent tingling sensation and discomfort on the thumb and the first two fingers.
To make sure it doesn’t worsen over time, there’s a lot you can do to protect yourself, at the same time prevent those symptoms from intensifying. In order to do so, fundamentally, you’ll need to understand what CTS is all about.
WHAT IS CTS?
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS) or better known as the median nerve compression is a common neuropathy condition that causes pain and discomfort in your hands and wrists. According to a 2016 study conducted at the University of Kansas School of Medicine–Wichita,Kansas, CTS is said to be caused by compression of the median nerve as it travels through the carpal tunnel.
The carpal tunnel is a narrowed passageway that’s surrounded by bones and ligaments on the palm side of your hand. In addition, the carpal tunnel has just enough space for tendons and nerves to pass through it and if anything takes up extra room in the canal, in this case such as inflammation, swelling or injuries, the nerve in the canal becomes compressed. This results in developing CTS symptoms.
SYMPTOMS OF CTS
When the nerve is compressed, the common symptoms that many individuals experience includes:
- Pain in the wrist.
- Tingling sensation.
- Sudden clumsiness.
- Weakness in the hand and arm.
- Numbness in the thumb, index and middle fingers.
- Shock-like tickles that move into your fingers and move up into your arms.
WHAT CAUSES CTS?
Most cases of CTS are often a result of a combination of factors that increases the pressure within the median nerve and the tendons in the carpal tunnel. Some contributing factors to this condition may include:
- Arthritis
- Trauma
- Sprain
- Fracture
- Hereditary
- Pregnancy
- Rheumatoid arthritis
- High-force hammering
- CTS usually occurs only in adults.
- People living with diabetes or other metabolic disorders that affect the body’s nerves, making them more susceptible to compression.
- Work-related activities: Tasks that involve the extreme wrist motions such as using the computer for long hours, working as a cashier, hairdresser or sewers.
- Gender: Women suffer from CTS more than men because women have smaller wrists, therefore their carpal tunnels are smaller.
TREATMENTS FOR CTS
While you think you can manage the pain in your fingers and hands, ignoring it for too long can cause permanent damages. The biggest success in improving the symptoms associated with CTS comes directly from addressing the underlying causes. In order to do so, visiting a healthcare professional as early as possible would be advisable.
There are a few treatment options available when it comes to treating CTS such as non-surgical treatments whereby your doctor will start by asking you questions and conduct one or more of the following tests below to determine whether you have carpal tunnel syndrome:
- History of symptoms
- Physical examination to test the feeling in your fingers, the strength of the muscles in your hand, bending the wrist, tapping on the nerve or simply pressing on the nerve to find if you feel any pain.
- X-rays are done on the affected wrists to exclude other causes of wrist pain such as fracture or arthritis.
- Electromyography (EMG), a diagnostic procedure done to assess the health of the muscles and the nerve cells in your hand.
However, it depends on the severity of it. If your condition is severe, you might need to consider getting a surgery.
Sources: WebMD, MayoClinic, Health
