Have you lost strength in your hands? Numbness? Tingling?
These are common some symptoms of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.
Once symptoms of pain and tingling appear, the condition
frequently worsens and permanent nerve damage can easily occur if not treated
properly.
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, or CTS, is a common and troublesome
condition that interferes with the use of the hand. It is caused when too much pressure is put on a nerve that
runs through your wrist.
In order to better understand CTS, you need to understand
the basic anatomy of the carpal, meaning wrist, tunnel and its relations to the
spine. The major nerves
controlling the arms, hands and fingers are the Radial, Ulnar and Median
nerves. These nerves travel from
your spinal cord, out of your neck, down the arm, through the wrist bones and
into the fingers. If these nerves
get pinched, the result is numbness, tingling, pins and needles, burning and
pain. These symptoms can reach
from the middle and index fingers, often extending into all five fingers, and
in extreme cases continuing up the arm.
The nerves exit the spinal cord through openings between
several bones in the lower neck.
These spinal bones can lose their normal motion and position creating
pressure or stress on the nerves, which in turn causes these symptoms in the
neck, arm and hands.
Dr. Florendo’s approach to the detection and care of Carpal
Tunnel Syndrome begins with locating the underlying cause, which is often
located in the neck or wrist. This
is accomplished with a complete consultation, x-rays where necessary and a
thorough chiropractic, orthopedic, physical and neurological examination.
After the underlying problem is determined and a diagnosis
is made, your treatment options are discussed and a personal care plan will be
prescribed.
Although Carpal Tunnel Syndrome can be extremely painful, it
is highly treatable with early diagnosis and proper treatment.
If you, or someone you know, exhibit any symptoms of CTS,
they should be seen by a professional before the problem becomes serious.
Prevention Tips
Please review the following CTS prevention tips. They could save someone from years of
pain and debilitation.
Keep Your Wrists in
Neutral. Avoid using your
wrist in a bent [flexed], extended or twisted position for long periods of
time. Instead, try to maintain a
neutral [straight] wrist position.
Watch Your Grip. Gripping, grasping or lifting with the
thumb and index finger can put unnecessary stress on your wrist. When practical, use the whole hand and
all the fingers to grasp an object.
Minimize Repetition. Even simple, light tasks may cause
injury over time. Avoid
repetitive movements or holding an object in the same way fro too long.
Rest Your Hands. Periodically give your hands a
break. You may be able to
alternate easy and hard tasks, switch hands or rotate work activities.
Reduce Speed and
Force. Reducing the speed with
which you do a force full, repetitive movement gives your wrist time to recover
from the effort. Using power tools
helps reduce the force.
Conditioning
Exercises. Certain exercises
strengthen the hand and arm muscles.
They may help by reducing the need to compensate for these weak muscles
with poor wrist position.
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome can be serious. Before you get to the point of regular
pain, or worse, schedule a consultation with Dr. Florendo by calling
702-920-6556 or visiting www.DrFlorendo.com
