Have you lost strength in your hands? Numbness? Tingling?

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