CARPAL TUNNEL SYNDROME
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is the most common entrapment neuropathy of the upper extremity, which occurs as a result of compression of the median nerve as it passes through the carpal tunnel at the wrist level.
WHAT ARE THE CAUSES OF CARPAL TUNNEL SYNDROME?
- Situations where trauma and injuries cause nerve compression
- Obesity
- Constantly dealing with the same task and actively using the mouse or keyboard
- Inflammation of tissues and joints (inflammatory rheumatic diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis)
- Wrist canals are structurally narrow (more common in women)
- Situations with excessive fluid retention in the body, such as during pregnancy and menopause
- Being in a profession that strains the wrist
- Chronic diseases that can cause nerve damage, such as diabetes
- Thyroid gland diseases
WHAT ARE THE SYMPTOMS OF CARPAL TUNNEL SYNDROME?
- Numbness in the entire hand and fingers except the little finger
- Tingling in hands and fingers,
- Continuous pain in wrists, hands and fingers
- Inability to use or difficulty using 3 fingers of the jammed hand
- Difficulty performing simple actions such as buttoning
- Loss of strength in hands and fingers, dropping objects from hand
- Difficulty moving the hand
- Electric sensation in fingers
- Pain radiating to the arm or shoulder
- Having difficulty making a fist
- Increased severity of pain after doing tasks such as cleaning, opening a jar, wringing a cloth
- Numbness and pain that wakes you up at night and feeling the need to shake your hand
HOW IS CARPAL TUNNEL SYNDROME DIAGNOSIS?
When the wrist is hit with a reflex hammer, an electric shock, that is, a shock-like response, is received in the patient’s fingers. This is known as ‘Tinel’s sign’. A largely definitive diagnosis can be made with EMG testing. When electrophysiological and clinical findings are well evaluated, there is generally no need for other examinations, but magnetic resonance imaging may be useful in some special cases.
HOW IS IT TREATED?
Treatment of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, which can be treated with surgical or non-surgical methods, is planned after understanding the stage of the disease. Not every carpal tunnel syndrome patient needs surgery. Most of the time, non-surgical solutions are possible. Nerve damage can be prevented by early diagnosis of the disease, taking necessary precautions and early treatment.
First of all, if there are underlying diabetes, hypothyroidism or rheumatic disorders, these should be treated, but in the meantime, nerve damage should not be allowed. Initial treatment; It usually involves resting the affected hand and wrist for at least two weeks, preventing or restricting activities that may worsen the symptoms, and applying a splint to immobilize the wrist to prevent further damage. It is observed that the complaints of most patients decrease with physical therapy, drug therapy, and cortisone injection into the carpal tunnel. Surgery is recommended for patients whose complaints persist despite all these treatments, who experience weakness in the hand muscles, and who have severe nerve compression.