Nerve injuries may seem harmful but they can lead to a lot of damage if you don’t tend to them immediately. Carpal tunnel syndrome is one of them as it needs the attention of a hand injury specialist. Here is everything you need to know about it.

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

Carpal tunnel syndrome is a common type of nerve disorder that occurs on the wrist. Your wrist and hand comprise huge networks of nerves and if one of them is compromised, then you might feel it all over your hand. With Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, the pressure is on the nerves of your wrist and this may cause a lot of tingling and weird sensations in your whole palm and even your fingers. The nerve under pressure is called the median nerve and it is enclosed in the Carpal Tunnel, which is a connection of ligaments and muscles in the base of your palm.

Causes Of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome has the following causes:

• If you are someone who writes very forcefully and uses a lot of pressure when holding the pen, this can cause a lot of pressure on the median nerve and this can compress it, causing Carpal Tunnel Syndrome in the long run.
• Typing is also a huge cause. Typing uses a lot of wrist power and you have to hold your hand steady whilst you type away. This can sprain the nerve and cause Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.
• Sometimes, women who are pregnant may also experience the symptoms of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. It is often caused by bodily changes during pregnancy and the filling of fluids in your body. This can put pressure on a lot of important points, including your wrists, elbows, and feet. It may go away after pregnancy but there still might be lingering effects of it later on.
• People who are extremely overweight can also experience Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. Obese people can’t put a lot of weight on their feet, so they rely on their hands to lift themselves up and this can put a lot of unnecessary pressure on the median nerve, hence causing numbness in the whole hand.
• Other diseases like osteoporosis, arthritis, and hypothyroidism can also cause Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.

Symptoms Of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

Here are the symptoms of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome:

• You will feel a weird tingling sensation in the tips of your fingers and it will also radiate up towards your palm and entire hand.
• Your grip will be loosened and you will find it hard to hold the things you would normally quite easily hold, like pens, pencils, papers, small objects, etc.
• You are unable to pinch your fingers together and this is quite a common identifying technique used in the diagnosis of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.
• In worse cases, you will lose feeling in your hand. This happens when you have ignored the symptoms long enough and the nerve of your hand is now “dead” because there is no circulation in it.
• The tips of your fingers will feel cold if you leave them stationary for a long time.

Treatments For Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

Here is how you can treat Carpal Tunnel Syndrome and bring back the sensation of your hand and fingers.

• You can wear a wrist cuff or splint. A wrist splint is going to keep your hand straight for the majority of the day and it will take off a lot of pressure from the nerves in your wrist. You can also wear it to bed when you have no control over the movement of your hands.
• You need to stop doing things that are triggering the pressure to increase in your wrist. Try to limit writing or typing as much as you can.
• Physical therapy also helps in bringing back circulation to the affected area. You will feel sensation again in your hand after some sessions.
• Taking painkillers also helps temporarily.

Conclusion

There you have it! Although it is not that much of a harmful disorder, it still needs to be treated in order to get rid of the tingling and numbing sensation in your wrist. So, find a hand injury doctor Woodbridge immediately if you’re experiencing similar symptoms.