Advances in technology has forced most jobs to necessitate the usage of computers or laptops. The most commonly used activity on the computer is undoubtedly typing. Typing involves complex coordination of the fingers on the hands of the user, as well as heavy movement of the wrists. Now there are many diseases which may frequent a person who is employed in a job involving heavy typing but one of the commonest yet perhaps least understood is carpal tunnel syndrome. Caused due to pressure on the median nerve, the disease is such that you do not immediately recognize the associated symptoms and a doctor’s consultation to help with the problem in gripping that you may be having usually may result in the name being introduced to you. Although it does not cause too much problems initially, it is imperative that the condition be treated as soon as possible with a combination of rest and medication or surgery to avoid aggravated results.
Causes
Carpal tunnel syndrome can be classified as a disease where most cases are idiopathic, that is, the actual cause of the disease cannot be properly triangulated in many cases. It is usually caused by narrowing of the carpal tunnel and the constriction of the median nerve. The various reasons for this may be due to the continuous and repetitive use of the wrists and predominantly affects individuals in the field of music such as piano and guitar, athletes and most importantly, computer users. Typing and using the mouse are one of the most common activities which causes the most casualties in terms of carpal tunnel syndrome.
While wrist intensive activities such as sewing, typing, athletics, guitar playing and assembly line work constitute one part of the causes for carpal tunnel syndrome. There are also other medical causes such as obesity, diabetes, thyroid disease, pregnancy, oral contraceptives, benign tumors exerting pressure on the nerve, among others.
Symptoms
Although an idiopathic disease, carpal tunnel syndrome is diagnosable and there are several identifying symptoms for the disease and the patient should contact a doctor on experiencing a combination of any of them as soon as possible:
1. Numbness
The symptoms for carpal tunnel syndrome usually begin in maximum cases with numbness in the area near the wrists such as the thumbs and the index and middle fingers. This numbness may even be interpreted in certain cases as a sharp burning sensation.
2. Pain
Another characteristic symptom of the disease is a nagging sensation of pain radiating from the wrist through the whole arm usually.
3. Problems with gripping
As the disease progresses to some extent, gripping items may become more difficult for you and you may complain of a weakness in you grip.
Diagnosis
There are various tests which are used to diagnose the presence of carpal tunnel syndrome in patients. These include:
1. Phalen’s test
This test involves bending the wrist and holding the position for 60 seconds and noticing for a sensation of numbness in the median nerve. Numbness indicates a positive result which means that carpal tunnel syndrome is present.
2. Tinel’s test
This test is slightly less sensitive and more specific than Phalen’s test and involves tapping the nerves over the flexor retinaculum and checking for a pins and needles sensatition which indicates carpal tunnel syndrome.
Treatment
The treatments to carpal tunnel syndrome are numerous and depending on the extent and case specifics, any of them might be applied to treat the disease. They are as follows:
1. Immobilization of the wrist
This involves giving complete rest to the wrist by using immobilizing braces or otherwise. The pressure on wrist specific activities is reduced to facilitate faster and better recovery. Braces worn constantly, however, may result in muscle wasting.
2. Medications
Medications such as anti-inflammatory medicines to relieve swelling in the carpal tunnel tissue or corticosteroid injections into the carpal tunnel itself may help alleviate the problems of carpal tunnel syndrome.
3. Surgical procedures
If all else fails, the only option to fall back on is surgery. Surgery helps release the pressure on the carpal tunnel and this carpal tunnel release surgery is used in persistent cases where the problem cannot be addressed by other treatments. Surgery has a 90% success rate with the 10% failure rate being attributed to improper diagnosis.
Prevention
Prevention is better than cure and there are many suggestions which one may adhere to prevent carpal tunnel syndrome:
- Minimize activities which result in repetitive pressure on the wrist and incorporate proper and effective habits into your lifestyle which help you do so.
- If strenuous work involving the wrists is completely necessary, like in case of a programmer or a typist, employ tools that will at least relieve some of the pressure to your wrists.
- Take regular breaks to prevent continuous stress on the wrists.
- If your job does involve heavy use of wrists, make it a habit to do 5 minute exercises to help you prevent the disease.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. If you have numbness in your wrists from heavy wrist work, it is carpal tunnel syndrome.
It may not be carpal tunnel syndrome so without consulting a doctor and proper diagnosis you should not panic.
2. Carpal tunnel syndrome just causes numbness so rushing the treatment is unnecessary.
Carpal tunnel syndrome can result in entropy of thenar muscles, if the condition remains untreated and is absolutely essential to consult a doctor.
