Carpal Tunnel Symptoms
The world today has been taken over by computers and laptops. Men and women invariably spend most of their work at the offices in front of the computers. These have also become the major source of entertainment and hence are popular among the kids and teenagers too. In short, this has become an inevitable and indispensable tool in our daily lives. Excessive use leads to strain in the hands due to the uncomfortable and unnatural position if the hands while typing on the keyboard. The strain leads to what we call the carpal tunnel syndrome. This condition will be discussed further in detail in the following article.
Carpal tunnel syndrome can de described as the pressure exerted on the median nerve that passes through the palms and wrist to enable the movement and sensation in the parts of the hand. Carpal Tunnel syndrome can result in numbing of the hands, tingling sensation, weakness of the hands and also damage to the muscles of the hands and even the fingers.
The Nomenclature of the disorder… Why is it named Carpal Tunnel Syndrome?
The median nerve enters the hand from the area called the carpal tunnel and is responsible for the movement of all the fingers of the hand and the palm towards the thumb part of hand. This narrow tunnel can easily be compressed with mild pressure and thus it can cause pain to the hand as the underlying nerve is pinched. It might also manifest at numbness and tingling sensation or even weakness in the hands.
Hence the disorder is named Carpal Tunnel Syndrome as the disease is solely based on the carpal tunnel in the wrist.
The Major Causes
Avid users of the computer are the most susceptible to the attacks of the syndrome. This is also the most cited cause for the condition. However, the use of computers is one of the many reasons of the disorder. The condition can occur to persons who actively use their hands and wrists to perform repetitive actions. Several other causes for the disease include
- Working in Assembly lines where there is a lot of fixing nuts and bolts involved
- Driving
- Sewing
- Writing
- Painting
- Use of hand tools or vibrating tools
- Hand ball and racket ball
- Playing musical instruments like guitar with improper positions and/or for long periods of time
Surveys have indicated that the disease occurs more frequently in the women than in men. The incidence of the disease has also been very high in the age group 30 – 60.
The Carpal Tunnel syndrome can lead to or can occur concomitantly with several medical conditions such as
- Fractures of the bones of the wrist
- Arthritis in the wrist
- Diabetes
- Excessive use of Alcohol
- Lower levels of thyroid hormone
- Failure of the kidneys
- Pre menstrual Syndrome, Pregnancy and Menopause
- Several Infections
- Obese people
- RA, SLE or scleroderma
Carpal Tunnel Symptoms
The most notable symptoms of the disease are
- Numbness of thumb, Tingling sensation in the thumb; this might also be observed in the next two or maybe 3 fingers. It can occur in either one or both the hands.
- A similar sensation can occur in the palm too (tingling sensation and numbing)
- A typical pain can be felt when the person extends his elbow
- Pain can be sensed in either one or both the wrist or hands
- Fine motor skills are depreciated and the coordination requires some effort
- Chronic cases have atrophy of the muscle that supports the thumb
- The grip of the person especially to carry bags and similar actions suffers greatly. This has been the most common complaint of the patients suffering from the disorder.
- The patients also experienced a weakness in the hands suffering from the syndrome
What will the doctor do when you approach him with the complaint of carpal tunnel syndrome?
Though the symptoms are clear enough to establish the disorder, the physicians often confirm the presence of the condition by performing several tests and observe for some particular signs that confirm the presence of the disease.
- Check for numbness in the fingers and the palm
- Check the strength of the grip
- Tinel’s Sign: They may also tap the region of the hand where the median nerve passes to observe for any sudden sharp pain arising at the wrist. This is referred to as the Tinel’s Sign.
- Phalen’s Test: Doctors often bend the wrist completely and hold the wrist in the same position for an approximate period of 60 seconds. Later he asks if the person feels any numbing, tingling, pain or weakness.
Laboratory tests
Several laboratory tests can predict the presence of the disorder accurately and some of them are
Electromyography
Speed of the nerve conductions
X-Ray of the wrists that are generally performed to eliminate the cause of the symptoms due to other reasons such as fractures or arthritis.