Carpal Tunnel Syndrome – When Surgery Is Needed


Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is a painful condition that involves the median nerve within the wrist. When this nerve gets squeezed, you will experience tingling sensation and numbness in your hand. When caught early, Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is easily cured. The condition does not go away when it is not properly managed.

For this reason, you should not ignore the symptoms of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. Consult your doctor if you feel any consistent tingling and numbness in your palm, thumb, index, middle, and part of the ring finger, as that may mean that you have Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.

When you present yourself at the clinic, your doctor will plan the course of your treatment depending on the severity of your symptoms. Treatment may range from rest to a surgical intervention. If all the conservative treatment methods do not work on you, it may be time to consider speaking with your doctor about surgery. Discuss with your doctor if surgery is the appropriate approach in your case at this time.

This is a case of a disturbance of a peripheral nerve that if not treated may progress into a chronic sensory disturbance or motor impairment in your hand which is supplied by the median nerve. To ensure that the nerve disturbance does not result in permanent damage, the doctor must be very watchful.

Surgery is done on patients whose Carpal Tunnel Syndrome can not be treated with conservative measures. There must also be a confirmation of a median neuropathy at the wrist done from an electrodiagnostic testing before surgery is considered. Surgery is also indicated when there are signs of atrophy or muscle weakness.

Carpal Tunnel Release is the name of the surgical procedure for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. There is the open release and the endoscopic release. The overall effectiveness of this operative procedure is reported to be good.

The standard procedure is the open release which is done through a small open wrist incision. It is performed by dividing the transverse carpal ligament through the small opening done on the wrist.

The endoscopic techniques, introduced in the ’80s are minimally invasive and are used to prevent palmar scarring. As with the open technique, the endoscopic techniques have equal efficacy in relieving the symptoms of the Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.

The outcome between these two techniques has no significant difference. It normally takes 28 days after the carpal tunnel surgery before the patient can go back to work. Some reports indicate that there is less post operative pain and a slightly quicker recovery time if the endoscopic technique is used.

It is possible that complications can happen after surgery, that is why it is important that you also discuss this issue with your doctor if you decide to have surgery. Once you are discharged, you will need someone to help you at home, so it is best that arrangements are made beforehand.

You can find out more about quick acting pain relief for carpal tunnel, when you visit the site for the best carpal tunnel treatment to eliminate your carpal tunnel pain for good!

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome – Nerve Compression


Have you been experiencing some tingling and numbing sensation in your hand? Has it been happening often lately while you are at work or at home? Do you feel that the tingling and numbness are worse at night?

If this has been continuously happening to you, more likely you are suffering from Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. This is a painful condition that affects the palm and fingers of your hand.

What is the definition of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome? It is a compression neuropathy that takes place when the nerve (median nerve) gets squeezed as it runs along the carpal tunnel (canal within the wrist). It affects the palm of the hand, the thumb, index, middle, and part of the ring fingers.

Carpal tunnel is a narrow canal within the wrist. The median nerve and nine flexor tendons of the hand pass through this passageway. It is common for the median nerve to get squeezed at this region.

The median nerve is included in the five main nerves branching from the brachial plexus (which branches from the spinal nerve). The median nerve goes through the upper arm. It conveys sensation from part of the hand and controls the muscle movement in the hand and forearm.

A tendon is a smooth, flexible, thick cord which attaches a muscle to a bone. The forearm is where these muscles, that are responsible to move the fingers, are found. The long tendons that are attached to these muscles extend through the wrist and attach to the small bones of the thumb and the fingers.

The extensor tendons responsible for straightening the fingers, are located on top of the hand. Found on the palm side of the hand, the flexor tendons are responsible for bending the fingers. When the forearm muscles gets contracted, these flexor tendons bend the fingers by pulling on the small bones of the thumb and fingers.

The median nerve gets compressed when any one of these flexor tendons gets inflamed and causes more narrowing of the carpal tunnel. Numbness and tingling in the hand are the outcome of this nerve compression.

People tend to sleep with their wrists flexed at night. This results in intense numbness which can wake one from sleep. That is the reason why a wrist brace worn especially at night is advised to keep the wrist in an unbent position when one is asleep.

If the condition is not managed properly, the symptoms of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome gradually increase overtime. In the long run, the afflicted person has to cope with significant pain and poor hand grip resulting in the person frequently dropping objects from the hand.

The continuous pain in the hand must not be ignored especially if it has been happening for weeks or even months. A doctor needs to be consulted.

You can find out more about fast acting pain relief for carpal tunnel, when you visit the site for the best carpal tunnel treatment to eliminate your carpal tunnel pain for good!