The carpal tunnel is a passageway in which the nine flexor tendons, median nerve, arteries, blood and lymphatic vessels pass through in order to supply function and movement to the fingers and wrist.
The carpal bones line the carpal tunnel on the posterior surface (backside) of the wrist with the transverse carpal ligament positioned on the anterior (front side) of the wrist. The size of the carpal tunnel is about the size of the index finger in diameter, and the flexor tendons, arteries and nerves glide past one another with ease in a carpal tunnel that has not decreased in size.
Carpal tunnel syndrome explanations suggest that numbness in the thumbs and the first two fingers results from a disorder caused in the median nerve. Sometimes due to some natural obstacles, the median nerve gets acutely trapped in a channel near the wrist called "carpal tunnel". The disease is also characterized by pain extending up to the forearm, coldness in the fingers and a paralyzing sensation in the hands and arms.
The first most important step in prevention is knowledge. Carpal tunnel syndrome most often affects workers who have jobs that require constant static or repeated movements, such as factory work, grocers, or computer workers. Carpal tunnel syndrome is not relegated just to these occupations, but it is much more common.
Symptoms of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome can develop for many years with no noticeable symptoms. However, when the first symptoms do appear they include burning or tingling sensations in the fingers, pain and numbness in the hand, an inability to grasp onto objects, and a weakness of the hands. Because Carpal Tunnel Syndrome involves the median nerve, it affects the parts of the hand that the median nerve supplies. These include the thumb, the index finger, the middle finger, and half of the ring finger.
carpal tunnel syndrome is the most recognized and prevalent among the general populace. And due to this recognition, many people are concerned about being afflicted with carpal tunnel and its debilitating symptoms, a concern that should be on the minds of anyone that is involved in work or recreational activities that require extensive use of the hands, especially in static motions such as "gripping" and/or repetitive motions like typing, clicking a computer mouse, assembly, etc.
The best way to treat carpal tunnel syndrome, however, is to prevent the condition from occurring. In most cases, this can be done by limiting repetitive motions such as typing for long periods of time. Simple stretching of the wrist and fingers throughout the day may also prevent the median nerve from becoming injured. Stabilization of the fingers and wrist may also prevent further symptoms.
The one main problem with cortisone is that for 21 days following the injection, the tendons have the consistency of rubber and can be seriously overstretched and damaged. This is a common side effect that most doctors fail to tell their patients. If the patient continues overusing and/or stressing their hands and wrists, the tendons can overstretch and cause the structural integrity of the joint to diminish greatly, causing the joint to become loose and sloppy, resulting in an even greater possibility of further injury and damage.
There are many over the counter drug prescriptions to help relieve the pain caused by Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. Among the more popular ones are anti-inflammatory drugs prescribed by doctors for pain-relief. However, be careful on drugs prescription, as there might be long term effects to this type of treatment. Although the pain might be temporarily relieved, in the long run, the root of the symptoms are not completely eliminated. Therefore, it is better to use the drugs sparingly.
Grocery checkers are so prone to carpal tunnel syndrome and similar injuries, that OSHA has specifically singled them out as a prime example of workers who need special considerations in their environment. The loss from workman's comp and lost time is enough that many employers have worked hard to introduce injury prevention programs.
As with many disorders, carpal tunnel syndrome may be influenced by genes and./or gender, but reality would stress that occurrence is more likely based on physical demands of specific occupations, the reason that certain occupations have a higher incident rate of carpal tunnel syndrome than others. If carpal tunnel syndrome were based on heredity, gender or size of wrist, the rate of carpal tunnel syndrome would be more substantially generic, with most unisex occupations reporting the same rate of injury no matter what type of physical stress the task involved.
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome causes:
1-Pregnancy
2-Rheumatoid arthritis and other causes of inflammation of the wrist
3-Endocrine disorders such as diabetes and hypothyroidism
