Carpal Tunnel Syndrome – A Painful Side Effect of Over Working
Work has caught up with you again and you spent your entire night on overtime facing the computer, typing papers and proofreading various documents that need your attention. After finishing your work, you suddenly feel varying degrees of numbness and an unexplainable tingling sensation on your fingers, specifically your thumb, your index fingers and the first half of your ringer finger. You can also feel your grip lose its strength and a dull pain on your arms and shoulders. At first, you thought it was merely arthritis. But after a visit to your physician and a handful of tests, you found out you’re now suffering from Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, typically abbreviated as CTS.
What is CTS?
The word carpal was derived from the word carpus, which has also been taken from the Greek word karpos, meaning “wrist”. The wrist is typically supported by a band of fibrous tissue, which surrounds the wrist area. There is an existing small space between the fibrous tissue and the wrist bone, which is called the carpal tunnel. This tunnel is where the median nerve customarily runs through. When the tunnel changes in position, becomes inflamed or injured, the median nerve will most likely be compressed and irritated. When median nerve damage occurs, it is called the Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, which leads to atrophied muscles, numbness and tingling sensation in the fingers and weakness.
Not many people know about CTS despite the fact that it is prevalent nerve compression disorder. In fact, five percent of working people who continually use their hands and wrist for work are afflicted with CTS. These include secretarial jobs, which are commonly typing their hands away in front of the computer. Meanwhile, one percent of the general population suffers from the said syndrome.
What causes CTS?
Majority of those who are afflicted with CTS have unexplainable causes. Typically, CTS is considered to be an idiopathic syndrome, which can only be exacerbated. Nevertheless, physicians believe that there are diseases which can lead to CTS, including arthritis, diabetes, hypothyroidism, obesity and trauma. Supposedly, several internal and external factors that may irritate the median nerve and may also cause CTS including vascular malformation, lipomas and ganglion. CTS is also associated with several conditions that either predispose or exacerbate the condition. Examples of these are pregnancy, mutations in the SH3TC2 gene, acromegaly, Double crush syndrome, leukemia, amyloidosis, multiple myeloma and unnecessary use of growth hormones, estrogen and steroids.
Although several medical conditions are believed to cause CTS, there are also physicians who think that repetitive work involving the hands and the wrist can also be responsible for the syndrome. In fact, governmental and non-governmental organizations are setting up funds and laws to help those who are continually exposed to factors that may predispose CTS.
Prevention of CTS
Getting diagnosed with Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is not an easy realization for most people especially for those who are working to pay for their daily expenses. Getting CTS is difficult not only because of the weakness that accompanies the syndrome but also because of the possible disability that may occur to them. They can’t work as hard as they used to when they have CTS. Hence, it is important to prevent acquiring the syndrome when you get the chance.
To prevent getting CTS, it is best to get enough rest and exercise after a few hours of working. Stand up and stretch your upper extremities when you get a chance.
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Diagnosis
A lot of people, especially those who may have a slight knowledge on CTS, can be paranoid when faced with slight symptoms of the syndrome. A woman who may have only been deficient of certain vitamins may immediately conclude that she’s suffering from CTS at the slight tingling sensation on her fingers. Fortunately, wrong conclusions can easily be prevented with the various modes of diagnosis for CTS. Initially, the physician will suspect CTS because of how the numbness and tingling sensation are distributed all over the hands and fingers. Since the median nerve often stops at the ring finger, the thumb, the index finger and the first half of the ring finger are most commonly affected by CTS compared to all the other fingers. The shoulders, the neck, the elbows, the reflexes and the pulses will also be inspected and tested to scratch out other medical conditions that may appear like CTS.
An electromyelogram (EMG), a test involving the muscles of the extremities, can also be conducted to rule out other diseases that may be causing the symptoms. Characteristically, diagnosis of CTS is strongly recommended when the nerve conduction velocity test comes back with abnormal results. The test commonly measures the rate of the electrical impulses from the brain towards the nerves of the extremities. Abnormal results in the hands and the wrists alongside the complaints of the patient, generally suggests CTS. Nevertheless, there are no single tests that can pinpoint CTS definitively.
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is not an easy condition. Fortunately, you don’t have to undergo through it alone. With various organizations and easy internet access to information, living a prolific life will always be possible.
