Carpel Tunnel Syndrome

Carpel tunnel syndrome affects thousands of people each year.  It is a common problem in young and older adults.  Carpel tunnel truly causes a lot of pain, discomfort and numbness in the wrist hands and arms.  Daily tasks can become unbearable, and it may become hard for a person to work and move their hands and arms. 

Common causes

A lot of patients that are diagnosed with carpel tunnel use their hands and arms repetitively.  Most of them have physical jobs that require them to lift objects while standing on their feet all day.  Patients that work in the construction field, hairstyling industry, or even patients that work in an office and type, can easily get carpel tunnel.   Some patients get carpel tunnel after just a few years and others never get carpel tunnel.  It truly depends on how the patient uses his or her hands, arms and wrists. Carpel tunnel patients can also get carpel tunnel from being overweight or by experiencing a previous injury, if you feel pain, numbness or tingling in your wrists and hands, it’s important to make an appointment to visit your doctor or specialist. 

Treatment

The good news is there are many different treatment options available now to help alleviate the pain and symptoms felt by carpel tunnel.  Patients are typically given many tools to help them manage their pain at home.  These tools might include a wrist band along with ice packs and exercises that can be performed at home.   Patients that have more serious cases of carpel tunnel may be required to undergo surgery.  The surgery is only used if all other options have been exhausted.  The surgery is essentially used to help alleviate the pressure felt in the hands and wrist; the procedure will actually make an incision to the ligament to relieve the pain felt in the nerves of the hands.  If you do not seek treatment you may be forced to undergo surgery.  It’s vital that you see a doctor once your symptoms become reoccurring so your doctor can help slow the progression of the syndrome.