No wonder! We are living in a technologically sound era in which computers have made our lives easier and stress-free. Unfortunately, in the last few years, there is an alarming upsurge in strain injuries due to excessive sitting time on computers, out of which, the most frequently seen concern among individuals is Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. Repetitive use of fine motor skills every day also influences the disease. Many young adults are glued with their mobile devices and hence hand and wrist pain are more commonly noticed among them. Sometimes you get confused and think it is just normal pain. Before pain waves hit you and take severe shape, consult the doctor and seek medical advice. To make you aware as what carpal tunnel syndrome is, keep reading the post. Here we have discussed its cause, symptoms, diagnosis, treatment and a few precautions that you can follow to boot out the pain.
Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS):
Carpal tunnel syndrome causes tingling pain, numbness, and weakness in the hands and the wrist. It is caused due to compression and squeezing of the median nerve, which runs through the length of the arm, passes through the wrist called carpal tunnel and ends in the hand. The nerve controls the movement and feeling of your thumb and the fingers. Due to increased pressure and swelling, the carpal tunnel gets narrowed. This abnormal pain exerts numbness and tingling in your wrist and hands. In the beginning, patients experience pronounced pain, mostly during night time and get worse over the period of time. It’s always good to consult the doctor in the beginning stage as he can help you to relieve nerve pressure by considering simple measures like avoiding certain activities or wearing wrist splint to keep your wrist in the correct position, thereby relieving nerve pressure. Sometimes the doctor may advise you to undergo surgery to take the pressure off the median nerve. For immediate relief, buy any OTC medicines from any trusted online medicine site and get it delivered right at your doorstep.
Symptoms:
Here we have listed a few of the symptoms which you need to look out for:
1. Pain and tingling sensation: You experience pins-and-needles sensation, mostly during the night time or as soon as you wake up in the morning. During day time, you experience tingling pain when you drive or while holding books or phones, etc. Shaking or moving fingers can help you relieve the pain.
2. Weakness: Weakness is seen in the thumbs and fingers. You find it difficult to drop or hold any object.
3. Numbness
4. Forearm tenderness
5. Loss of strength
7. Swelling
8. Muscle wasting: Advanced stage of CTS can cause thinning of muscles near the base of the affected thumb.
9. Occasional clumsiness
Who are at the risk of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome?
Women are more likely to develop carpal tunnel syndrome than men because of the smaller size of the carpal tunnel itself when compared to men. Apart from this, certain medical conditions can also cause compression and make the person vulnerable to the problem. The conditions are listed below:
• Diabetes
• Hypothyroidism
• Trauma
• Pregnancy
• Obesity
• Rheumatoid arthritis
If you already have any of the above risk factors and have prescriptions with you then never miss the medicine dose. You can buy prescription drugs online from any reliable online medicine website.
CTS or Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is not only seen among the individuals who are confined to the use of a computer but affects people in various other occupations as well. It is more commonly seen among assembly line workers like cleaning, sewing, fishing, packing, and manufacturing to name a few.
Diagnosis:
Early diagnosis is a must to avoid permanent damage to the median nerve. Your doctor will check your medical history and do a thorough physical examination of hands, fingers, shoulders, and neck to rule out the cause of the disorder. The wrist will be examined for any swelling discoloration, and tenderness. Each finger will also be checked for any sensation issues.
• X-ray and blood test will be carried out to detect the disease and the cause of nerve damage like arthritis, diabetes, fractures, etc.
• Tinel test: The doctor will tap or press on the median nerve of the wrist. If tingling occurs in the affected finger then the test shows positive.
• Ultrasound imaging is used to track if there is any change in the size of the median nerve.
• Electrophysiological tests like Electromyography and nerve conduction studies are also carried out if required.
• MRI Scan
Treatment of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome:
The choice of treatment depends upon the severity of the symptoms and any underlying disease. If CTS is left untreated, the symptoms can worsen and the pain may exude up the arm and then to the shoulders. Over a longer period of time, it can cause atrophy. If the symptoms are mild, your doctor will suggest non-surgical treatment options like,
Taking anti-inflammatory drugs or steroids to reduce swelling
Wearing wrist splint to release pressure
Avoid recurrent day time activities and take more breaks to shake your arms and legs
Practicing yoga can also help to relieve pain to a greater extent and improve grip strength
With conservative measures and medications, most of the symptoms get relieved. Occasionally, chronic pressure on the median nerve can lead to numbness and weakness. In such cases, your doctor may advise undergoing open carpal tunnel release surgery or endoscopic carpal tunnel release surgery to lessen the pressure on the median nerve.
Prevention:
• Keep your wrist in a straight position and avoid monotonous pressure in your palms
• Don’t keep your thumbs and fingers in a flexed position for a longer period of time. Always pay attention to your forms and postures.
• Stretch your hands and arms more frequently
• Take frequent rest breaks and never let your jobs to blame on you.
• Medical conditions like thyroid, diabetes, gout should always be kept under control
Exercises:
Always seek your doctor’s advice to know which exercise will help more to relieve your symptoms. Here we have listed a few simple exercises which you can follow along with your medications.
• Wrist flexion stretch
• Wrist extension stretch
• Grip strengthening
• Wrist curl
• Wrist resistance
• Nerve gliding
For granted, we use our hand and wrists more often for texting and typing. Likewise, assembly line workers use their hands for repetitive work that limits their wrist movement. We exert a lot of pressure on our hands. There is no way to prevent the occurrence of carpal tunnel syndrome. Just minimize your stress and strain as much as you can. Initial pain can be eased by using simple treatment at home. So, buy OTC medicine online from the best online medicine store in India.
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I’m Jimish Shah, the person who started SkyZ Infotech, a Powerful and Result-Driven Most Reliable Digital Partner. I’m a professional blogger, digital marketer, and content marketer also with over 8 years of experience. My focus is on providing the most researched information to new startups, entrepreneurs, freelancers, and bloggers. My objective is to educate the youth of today on a broad range of subjects.
