How to Prevent Carpal Tunnel Syndrome at an Earlier Stage?

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Prevention

Have you ever thought about the pressure that you are putting on the median nerve? If you have pain, numbness or tingling in your fingers, it might be a possible symptom of carpal tunnel syndrome. It is a common condition that affects people in all kind of work, no matter if you are lifting weights, working at your desk, swinging a basketball or a tennis racket.

Everyone is prone to the condition! It can affect anyone at any age, and any activity that inflicts abnormal pressure on the median nerve is responsible for bringing on the problem. The disorder affects the hand and arm, and in most patients, the condition gets worse over time.[1]

If the pressure on the nerve continues, it can lead to damaging the nerve and hence worsening the symptoms. To prevent permanent damage, it is necessary to perform surgery and take pressure off the median nerve. The early on symptoms can often be relieved with simple measures like avoiding certain activities or wearing a wrist splint.

What is Carpal Tunnel Syndrome?

The median nerve that runs along the length of the arm goes through a passage in the wrist called the carpal tunnel and then it ends in the hand. Fewer people know that the median controls the movement and feeling of the thumb and also the movement of all the fingers in your hand except the pinky. The pressure on the median nerve generally results in swelling that causes the carpal tunnel to get narrowed.

To be very precise Carpal Tunnel Syndrome occurs when the tissues surrounding the flexors swell or the tunnel becomes narrowed, putting pressure on the median nerve. The tissues are generally known as the synovium that lubricates the tendons making it easier for the fingers to move. But when the synovium swells, that takes a lot of space in the carpal tunnel and over time crowds the nerve. This abnormal pressure can result in the pain, tingling, weakness, and numbness in hand.[2]

What are the Possible Causes of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome?

Carpal tunnel syndrome is a familial disorder, which often arises in the human body due to lack of care and workloads. If you think only workloads or heavy pressure on the median nerve is the only reason for carpal tunnel pain, then you are sadly mistaken. There are certainly various factors responsible for causing this deadly syndrome in human beings. Some of the most common causes are mentioned below. Have a look at them!

The causes for this does not depend on the occupation of people and can be a consequence of:

• Heredity as some of the traits of CTS can run in the families.
• Conditions like rheumatoid arthritis, obesity, hypothyroidism, diabetes, etc.
• Pregnancy.
• Repetitive motions of the wrist like typing and especially of those motions in which the hands are lower than the wrist.
• Fracture of wrist or sprain.
• Alcoholism.
• Chronic illness.
• Older age.

Can your corporate job be blamed? In today's date, most of the employees are confronting this dangerous disease, which leads to severe ache and soreness in the wrists and hands. People who are assigned with the data entry tasks and piano pressing are often facing this syndrome. Heavy computer-related tasks are also considered as a major factor for carpal tunnel syndrome.

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Symptoms

As Carpal tunnel syndrome grows more severe, it may lead to less grip strength as the muscles in the hand shrink causing the pain and cramping to become worse. The median nerve under the excessive pressure begins to lose function because of the pressure or irritation around it. This leads to:

• Clumsiness and weakness in the hand that can cause the basic regular day to day activities complicated.
• Tingling, burning, and numbness primarily in the thumb, index, and middle fingers.
• Due to weakness, you may drop things more often, or you may experience a loss of proprioception that means awareness of where exactly your hand is in space.
• Occasional shock sensations that may eventually radiate to the thumb and index, middle and ring fingers.

In most of the case, the symptoms of CTS begin without any injury and worsen over time. Night-time symptoms are very common as a lot of people sleep with their wrists bent. During the day symptoms occur as the wrist bends forward or backward while using the phone, driving or reading a book. Instead of only analyzing the symptoms, it is important to treat this disease well in time before things move out of your vision.[3]

What will Happen Without Proper Treatment?

It is of no surprise that the symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome come and go every time you put pressure on the median nerve. But, sometimes, the condition becomes worse when you give constant pressure and effort to the nerves. Pain will radiate more into the hands, wrist, and arms, and however, will reach to the shoulder. So, if you left the hands untreated, then this syndrome will start to affect the muscles, thumbs and other parts of the body as a result of which, surgery will be the last option to resolve the pain. 

What are the Relief Remedies or Treatment Methods?

From surgery to Yoga, you have a lot of options when it comes to a remedy for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. There are indeed a lot of options that will save your hand from chronic pain. Some of these are described below:

Due to the boisterous lifestyle, maximum people are facing this life-threatening illness. However, the stress level is building day-by-day, which put more stress and strain on the hands and other body parts. Whether you are a guitarist or a corporate employee typing on the keyboards frequently, carpal tunnel syndrome is nowadays common in every age group.

Excessive loads on the wrist and hands lead to this ailment, which further restricts your fingers and arm to work smoothly. Sometimes, stretching and hand twisting exercises will work in a better manner to improve the blood flow in the body, but, when the pain increases, simple techniques will not be effective. So, instead of working all the time, you need to take a break from your usual schedule. Give your hands enough rest to regain power and energy.

Quick hand and wrist exercises will help you regain the strength, and moreover, will reduce the inflammation and soreness. You can start with simple exercises, which will not hurt you more. Gradually, with the rise in time, you can increase the complexity of the exercises to get better satisfaction. Repeat the exercises regularly

Since ages, people believe in the cold and hot treatments, which are no doubt beneficial. While using the hot water for the swollen hands and wrists, you need to take care of the temperature. High temperature or boiled water may affect your skin badly. So, take care of the water temperature and use up to that level, which is suitable for your body.

However, on the other side of the fence, ice cubes are also impactful and will give immediate relief to the hands. You need to use the ice cubes in a towel so that you will not feel any type of unusual sensation. Every time, you need to consider the safety measures while using the cold and hot water treatment process.

If things are not getting better with the treatment mentioned above methods, then you can go for NSAID such as ibuprofen and naproxen for immediate relief. But, make sure that you have consulted your doctor before taking any medicine. Things are not as simple as they appear to be. Avoid taking excessive painkillers, and try not to do those works, which are not supporting your health condition.

Often, people don't like to wear the wrist support braces as it pains a little bit and put pressure on the inflammation. However, inflammation and swelling are some of the common symptoms you can find in the people dealing with the carpal tunnel disease. Instead of wearing the splints in the daytime, you can use them in the night while sleeping. You will not feel much pain and irritation, unlike the daytime.

If you have numbness in hands, then the hand braces will be beneficial for you. Braces can help to keep your back straight in a neutral position and so can deliberately minimize the pressure on the median nerve. Extra strain and repeated motions can make your pain worse so if you possibly try to wear the brace during your work hours as well. It’s more often expected that these basic remedies would work, but for more severe cases you might need surgery.

It completely depends on how you perceive the pain. If the pain is more, then treatment is a must. On the other side, if things are within your control, then home remedies will be the best option to eliminate the pain.

References

1..https://familydoctor.org/condition/carpal-tunnel-syndrome/

2..https://health.clevelandclinic.org/5-ways-can-ease-carpel-tunnel-syndrome-pain-without-surgery/

3..https://www.webmd.com/pain-management/carpal-tunnel/ss/slideshow-carpal-overview

4..https://www.healthline.com/health/home-remedies-for-carpal-tunnel#takeaway