Carpal tunnel syndrome is a common, painful disorder of the wrist and hand.
Carpal tunnel syndrome is caused by pressure on the median nerve in your wrist. People who use their hands and wrists repeatedly in the same way (for example, illustrators, carpenters, and assembly-line workers) tend to develop carpal tunnel syndrome.
Pressure on the nerve may also be caused by a fracture or other injury, which may cause inflammation and swelling. In addition, pressure may be caused by inflammation and swelling associated with arthritis, diabetes, and hypothyroidism. Carpal tunnel syndrome can also occur during pregnancy.
The symptoms include:
Your health care provider will review your symptoms, examine you, and discuss the ways you use your hands. He or she may also do the following tests:
If you have a disease that is causing carpal tunnel syndrome (such as rheumatoid arthritis), treatment of the disease may relieve your symptoms.
Other treatment focuses on relieving irritation and pressure on the nerve in your wrist. To relieve pressure your health care provider may suggest:
Your provider may prescribe an oral cortisonelike medicine or a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medicine, such as ibuprofen. He or she may recommend an injection of a cortisonelike medicine into the carpal tunnel area. In some cases surgery may be necessary.
How long the symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome last depends on the cause and your response to treatment. Sometimes the symptoms disappear without any treatment, or they may be relieved by nonsurgical treatment. Surgery may be necessary to relieve the symptoms if they do not respond to treatment or they get worse. Surgery usually relieves the symptoms, especially if there is no permanent damage to the nerve.
Symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome that occur during pregnancy usually disappear following delivery.
Follow your health care provider's recommendations. Also try the following:
The goal of rehabilitation is to return you to your sport or activity as soon as is safely possible. If you return too soon you may worsen your injury, which could lead to permanent damage. Everyone recovers from injury at a different rate. Return to your sport will be determined by how soon your wrist recovers, not by how many days or weeks it has been since your injury occurred. In general, the longer you have symptoms before you start treatment, the longer it will take to get better.
You may return to your sport or activity when you are able to painlessly grip objects like a tennis racquet, bat, golf club, or bicycle handlebars. In sports such as gymnastics, it is important that you can bear weight on your wrist without pain. You must have full range of motion and strength of your wrist.
If you do very repetitive work with your hands, make sure that your hands and wrists are comfortable when you are using them. Take regular breaks from the repetitive motion. Avoid resting your wrists on hard or ridged surfaces for prolonged periods.
If you have a disease that is associated with carpal tunnel syndrome, effective treatment of the disease might help prevent this condition.
In some cases the cause is not known and carpal tunnel syndrome cannot be prevented.