Symptoms of Carpal Tunnel

Carpal tunnel disorder is a joint condition where the carpal tunnel, a space between your hand's carpal bones near the wrist, becomes smaller due to inflammation or other problems, causing the nerves and tendons that run through this area to become constricted, inflamed, and damaged. The condition can be mild or debilitating, and if not treated can eventually lead to loss of ability to use your hands.

Symptoms of carpal tunnel are most often found in the hands of those who engage in repetitive motion tasks: typing, cash register, factory work, sewing, even playing musical instruments. These are also the people who most depend on their hands on a daily basis, so the symptoms can be very distressing, especially when they develop rapidly.

Most typical is a gradual onset of carpal tunnel symptoms, including burning, tingling, or itchy numbness in one or several fingers, in the palm of the hand, and sometimes in the wrist. Most often, the symptoms are felt in the thumb and in the index and middle fingers. Also, symptoms may appear in just one or in both hands, and there are often different symptoms in the two different hands. Sometimes fingers feel stiff and swollen to the patient, even when there is no obvious swelling. Most often, the first onset of symptoms is when the patient wakes up in the morning, though they are often more noticeable as the day goes on.

If you wake with carpal tunnel, you may mistake the symptoms for a hand that has "fallen asleep." The first reaction may be to shake out the hand and wrist, but the sensations do not go away. As the day progresses, the symptoms may gradually fade, or you may start to feel strong tingling during the day, almost like an electric shock. Sometimes the hand is painful. At this point, taking aspirin or another anti-inflammatory medication may help.

Symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome as it progresses grow significantly worse. Your grip strength decreases, making it hard to pick up small objects or form a tight fist. If not treated, muscles found at the thumb base may atrophy from disuse. Nerves can get so damaged that the patient loses the ability to determine hot and cold; both extremes feel the same. But the worst is the lost of dexterity in the fingers, making it impossible to perform fine manual tasks.

Traditional treatments for carpal tunnel syndrome include pain medications, anti-inflammatory drugs, and large doses of vitamin B complex. To help the nerves and tendons heal, the hand may be immobilized by splints or braces to be worn during the night or day, or both. If nothing else works, and often nothing else does work, the doctor may prescribe surgery. Unfortunately, when surgery is performed, the scar tissue and underlying problems usually only alleviate the symptoms for a hand that has "fallen asleep." The first reaction may be to shake out the hand and wrist, but the sensations do not go away. As the day progresses, the symptoms may gradually fade, or you may start to feel strong tingling during the day, almost like an electric shock. Sometimes the hand is painful. At this point, taking aspirin or another anti-inflammatory medication may help. Symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome for a short period of time; the problem will creep back.

Recently, however, the symptoms of carpal tunnel disorder have been associated with more general problems with posture caused by a sedentary lifestyle and jobs during which you don't move around much. Physical therapists, previously rarely consulted by doctors treating carpal tunnel syndrome, have developed a number of exercises that address not your hands, but your general posture habits, going by the theory that our interconnected joint and muscle systems can cause problems far away from the core of the problem. The results have been promising.