Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (Median Nerve Compression In The Hand)
What is it?
The median nerve travels down your arm and can become compressed as it passes through the ‘carpal tunnel’ in your hand. The median nerve supplies the skin to the thumb, index, middle fingers (and typically half the ring) as well as some of the muscles in the thumb. If you have a problem with this nerve you may have numbness or pins and needles in the digits supplied by the nerve. The symptoms are generally worse at night or with activities which cause the wrist to be bent.
What is it?
The median nerve travels down your arm and can become compressed as it passes through the ‘carpal tunnel’ in your hand. The median nerve supplies the skin to the thumb, index, middle fingers (and typically half the ring) as well as some of the muscles in the thumb. If you have a problem with this nerve you may have numbness or pins and needles in the digits supplied by the nerve. The symptoms are generally worse at night or with activities which cause the wrist to be bent.
What causes it?
There are 9 tendons and one nerve which pass through the carpal tunnel. The majority of time carpal tunnel is due to inflammation of the synovium of the tendons (which is why it is commonly seen in individuals who work with their hands). There are many other causes as well including pregnancy and thyroid problems.
What happens if you do nothing?
If you have significant constant nerve compression and it is not released there can be irreparable damage to your nerve. When the problem is intermittent e.g. symptoms only occurring with certain activities / at night this may settle down with simple measures.
What happens if you do nothing?
If you have significant constant nerve compression and it is not released there can be irreparable damage to your nerve. When the problem is intermittent e.g. symptoms only occurring with certain activities / at night this may settle down with simple measures.
What treatments are there?
If the symptoms are mild or intermittent simple measures such as wearing a splint at night or a steroid injection into the carpal tunnel may help things to settle. If you have constant or severe symptoms decompressing the nerve is usually recommended. This is a relatively straightforward operation and generally successful. It is normally performed under local anesthetic. Recovery time for a desk job is roughly 2 weeks and 4-6 weeks for manual work. Grip strength takes roughly 12 weeks to be regained.