All about Carpal Tunnel Syndrome with Symptoms, Causes, and treatments

Carpal tunnel syndrome or CTS is one of the most common hand conditions, and it is caused due to excessive pressure on the median nerve. The median nerve runs from the forearm and goes into the palm through the carpal tunnel of your wrist. When the median nerve gets compressed, twisted, or squeezed repeatedly, it causes pain in different ways. A patient may feel weakness, pain, numbness, and tingling in his/her fingers, thumb, hand, and arm due the carpal tunnel syndrome. Pain management specialists with pain management fellowship in India course and certification provide holistic treatment to relieve the tingling and numbness of the hand and help restore the hand functions like before.

What Causes Carpal Tunnel Syndrome?

Before we start discussing further about Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS), it is important to know what causes CTS. By this time, we already know that CTS occurs in the median nerve in the wrist. Let us know the facts that cause CTS. 

● Repetitious Hand & Wrist Postures: When you are required to bend your wrist or hold something in your hand in an uncomfortable position for a long time, this position leads to CTS. Even, forceful and repetitive tasks through wrist movements cause CTS. Tasks like typing, excessive computer use, clicking the mouse, using/lifting heavy tools (hammer, screwdriver, drills,

jackhammers, chainsaws, and so on), and any heavy manual work that causes pressure on the wrist and leads to CTS. 

● Sports: If you are a sportsman and you use your wrists for repetitive motions and/or gripping tennis or racquet, it can end up with CTS. Also, people who are playing golf undergo carpal tunnel syndrome for poor golf techniques and end up with wrist strain.

● Playing Instruments: People who play piano or string instruments like violin or guitar, suffer from CTS. 

● Chopping & Cutting: People who are working in food preparation fields and are involved in cutting, chopping, mixing, and stirring for the whole day usually suffer from CTS.

Besides, people who are involved in knitting, crafting, woodwork, cleaning tasks, and physical therapy; generally suffer from carpal tunnel syndrome from repetitive work.

Symptoms of CTS

Carpal tunnel syndrome starts providing symptoms gradually. At the very beginning of the syndrome, people can hardly identify the problems. However, once they suffer from continuous tingling, numbness, weakness, and persistent pain in the wrist, fingers, thumb, and hand, they can feel the problem. People with CTS have problems holding the steering wheel, newspaper, book, phone, or other heavy things for a long time. They feel a sudden sensation and shake in their hands; the sensation goes up to their forearm. Sometimes, they drop objects unknowingly due

to weakness or numbness in the wrist or thumb. These symptoms and their management are thoroughly covered in our Pain Management Course.

Treatments for CTS

If you think that you need to go for surgery, you are partially wrong. Pain management professionals/doctors suggest other ways to heal the condition following

● Self Care: To ease the pain put an ice pack on the wrist for 10 to 15 minutes; twice or thrice a day. You will be suggested to give your hand and wrist a break from time to time. Otherwise, you can put your hand in lukewarm water 3 to 4 times a day to provide relief. 

● Wear Wrist Braces: Yes, braces are the best thing to alleviate pain due to CTS. Wear the brace during your sleep for better results for at least 3 to 4 weeks. 

● NSAIDs: Sometimes, doctors provide nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs to relieve pain and inflammation. 

● Corticosteroids/Corticosteroid Shots: Your pain management doctor can prescribe you corticosteroids to lessen the swelling and pain through pills. If the doctor thinks that you need a shot of corticosteroids, s/he will give it to relieve your pain.

Along with medications, doctors/pain management professionals who have learned and acquired the best skills through a pain management fellowship in India suggest alternative medications or therapies like complementary medicine, yoga sessions, ultrasound therapy, acupuncture, and/or physical therapy sessions to heal your pain.

Lastly,

Remember, surgery is the last resort that pain management professionals suggest if there are no other ways to treat CTS. In general, surgeries like Open Carpal Tunnel Release and Endoscopic Carpal Tunnel Release are performed to relieve patients from persisting pain, muscle weakness, and atrophy due to CTS.