General Overview of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
Posted on July 19, 2009
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Have you been noticing some pain, numbness, or tingling through your wrist and hand? If you have, you may be thinking that you are suffering from carpal tunnel syndrome. Sometimes this syndrome is blamed for several similar issues you can have with your wrists. You need to consult with you doctor to see if you truly have the carpal tunnel syndrome.
This syndrome is the most common cause for these symptoms. Symptoms of this condition normally begin gradually. You may experience burning, tingling, numbness or itching on the palm of your hand and in the fingers, most notably the thumb, index and middle fingers. Your fingers may feel swollen even if they don’t appear to be. Symptoms may appear in your dominant hand first or both.
Symptoms usually begin at night, since many people tend to sleep with their wrists flexed. Have you ever woken up and felt the need to shake out your hands to make them feel better? This could mean carpal tunnel syndrome. As the condition worsens, the tingling and other sensations may be felt during the day. You may notice your grip isn’t as strong as it once was. It may become harder to perform fine motor skills like picking up small objects. In untreated cases, you may notice that the base of the thumb seems to melt away. Other people have reported they have problems telling the difference between hot and cold by touching. The common thought is that this condition is brought on through repetitive movements like typing. In fact, carpal tunnel syndrome is often caused by a combination of things that serve to increase the pressure on your median nerve. It could be caused by a congenital predisposition to the problem.
This condition is thought to be brought on by tasks that have repetitive type actions such as typing. But the fact is, that this carpal tunnel syndrome usually is caused from a mixture of actions that add extra pressure to the median nerve. You could also have a predisposition to this condition due to genetics. In some families the carpal tunnel can just run a bit smaller than average. You can also get the condition due to a trauma or injury that makes the area swell, such as a sprain. Other causes for this can be rheumatoid arthritis, a pituitary gland that is too active, work stress, hypothyroidism, stress from working, operating vibration tools, menopause or pregnancy induced water retention, mechanical problems in your wrist, or a cyst or tumor growing close by the area or in the area. Many times no cause is found.
There is no proof that the commonly thought of causes bring on this syndrome. The actions that are repetitive are usually causes for tendonitis or bursitis before they would cause the carpal tunnel syndrome.
You can usually get some relief by just stretching and exercising your hands and wrists occasionally in the day. Through this you might prevent from developing the carpal tunnel syndrome completely.
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