You would have heard the word carpal tunnel or might be that you have heard someone saying that she has been doing Carpal tunnel exercises and then most of you might have thought that what does exercise has to do with some tunnel.
Well this is not that kind of tunnel through which our cars passes. Its something totally different.
We work everyday and all of our jobs requires the use of hands. The only thing that differs is the type of work. I am going to give you some very easy examples , a data entry operator or software professional uses his hands on the keyboard of his computer. He or she performs similar repetitive movements everyday all his / her life. Similarly in most of the countries where people especially women do all the dish washing , sewing and washing clothes by themselves they also perform the same kind of movement nearly all their life.
Similarly people who performs works like driving , Painting , Writing or those who use different kind of tools like carpenters, Sports such as lawn tennis, racquetball or handball even some musical instruments like piano etc all have to do similar repetitive movements each and everyday and these repeated movements leads to a disorder of the wrist called as carpal tunnel syndrome.
What actually happens in Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is that one of the nerves that passes through the wrist, called median nerve is trapped and the surrounding tissues puts pressure on it, causing pain, numbness, weakness, tingling, or muscle damage and other symptoms. When we say tunnel we mean the tunnel like hole in the wrist through with the median nerve passes to get to the hand. so you can say that due to some sort of compression , this tunnel hole becomes small and the median nerve is trapped in it leading to all those symptoms discussed above.
Why and How this happens is not completely understood yet but according to the N.C.B.I. ,The National Center for Biotechnology Information , the most probable cause of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is Jobs that requires repetitive wrist moments.
People who suffer from Carpal tunnel syndrome have other associated diseases too . some of the are mentioned below.
A number of medical problems are associated with carpal tunnel syndrome, including:
- Bone fractures and arthritis of the wrist
- Diabetes
- Pregnancy, Menopause and Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)
- Acromegaly
- Hypothyroidism
- Obesity
- Kidney failure and dialysis
- Alcoholism
- Rheumatoid arthritis
- Infections
- Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), and scleroderma
Prevention
It is highly debatable whether what factors could prevent CTS. It is believed that you can prevent carpal tunnel syndrome by avoiding repetitive movements , taking proper breaks or modifying the type of work by the help of ergonomic equipment (wrist rest, mouse pad), using keyboard alternatives (digital pen, voice recognition, and dictation), and taking home made remedies such as taking turmeric (anti-inflammatory), Vitamin B and omega-3 fatty acids.
Treatment Options
Several medicines can be used for the treatment of carpal tunnel syndrome. These includes (NSAIDs), nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs such as naproxen or ibuprofen . Short term symptomatic relief can be achieved by Injecting Corticosteroids directly into the carpal tunnel area. Other treatments includes splinting (immobilizing braces), oral corticosteroids and ultrasound treatment.
SURGERY
Carpal tunnel release surgery is performed in which the ligament that is pressing on the median nerve is cut and the pressure on the median nerve is relieved. Surgery ha a very high success rate, but the outcome depends on duration and severity of the nerve compression. So Early surgery is highly recommended.
This was the easiest way anyone could explain carpal tunnel syndrome. i hope you like the article. if you do then don’t forget to like our Facebook page and remember to comment before you leave. There are other nice articles too if you have time to read just browse through the website.
