Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Treatment

Get relief from carpal tunnel symptoms

Carpal tunnel syndrome

Wrist pain causes
Treatment for carpal tunnel
Your hands are an important part of you as we use our hands everyday. As soon as something feels off in your hands you will be sure to notice it immediately.

Apart from the usual soreness and aches from overuse, it can be more concerning when you start feeling tingling, weakness or numbness in your hands.

Symptoms

Causes

Treatment

Your carpal tunnel is an actual tunnel or canal on the palm side of your wrists. It connects your forearm to your hand. This tunnel is surrounded by connective tissue, ligaments and the bones of your wrist.
It is a narrow passage where one of your palm and hand nerves passes through, your median nerve. Other structures such as the tendons of some of your forearm muscles also pass through here.
carpal tunnel pain relief

Carpal Tunnel Symptoms

When your carpal tunnel gets pinched or compressed, this can put pressure on your median nerve. This is a form of entrapment neuropathy and is the most common one that happens in your body. Some carpal tunnel syndrome symptoms include:

Tingling or numbness

You may start to feel numbness or tingling in your fingers, especially your thumb to your middle finger and a part of your ring finger. Your little or fifth finger should feel normal. Some patients have also described the feeling like an electric shock in their palms and fingers.

  • The tingling and numbness can also spread up your arm
  • You may notice these sensations when you are using your hands such as when you are driving, using your phone, typing or even during sleep

Weakness

Another symptom of carpal tunnel syndrome is sometimes weakness in your hand. You may find it harder to hold on to items or that you are dropping things. This weakness is usually because your median nerve controls your thumbs ability to pinch close, or the muscles in the pad of your thumb.

If the main symptom you feel is pain in your wrist, you may have a different wrist problem and not carpal tunnel syndrome.

Causes Of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

The typical causes of carpal tunnel syndrome may be overuse related, genetics or if you have another health condition.

Overuse

Some of the factors of your work may be contributing to your carpal tunnel syndrome symptoms. Things to consider include:

  • How much vibration are you exposed to while you work
  • Is your work repetitive
  • The amount of force you need to use
  • Your position while working

Generally, if your work is highly repetitive meaning doing the same thing over and over again, it may be a factor in your symptoms. Research behind the potential connections between work duties and carpal tunnel syndrome is still ongoing.

Genetics

It is possible that genetics may make someone more likely to get carpal tunnel syndrome.

Related health conditions

There are a number of other health conditions that can contribute to the likelihood of you having carpal tunnel syndrome. Some of these include:

  • Arthritis: due to inflammation of your forearm tendons
  • Obesity: people who are obese are more likely to have carpal tunnel syndrome
  • Old fracture of your wrist
  • Pregnancy: hormone changes may lead to water retention such as in your carpal tunnel
  • Tumors: can compress your carpal tunnel
  • Other contributors include medication use and diabetes

In addition to carpal tunnel syndrome, other types of wrist problems include:

  • deQuervain’s Tenosynovitis
  • Tendonitis of your wrist
  • Wrist sprain
carpal tunnel syndrome treatment

Start Feeling Better Now

If you are having numbness, tingling or weakness in your hands and wrists and are having trouble shaking it off, visit your physiotherapist. Your physio can help you find ways to relieve your carpal tunnel syndrome.

Schedule Your Visit

Click To Phone 604-738-1168

Home Tips To Help Your Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

A few things that may help carpal tunnel symptoms include:

  1. Ice: to keep the inflammation and swelling down
  2. Ergonomics: having a good desk or work setup may be helpful
  3. Shake: some people find gently shaking their wrists sometimes helps their symptoms
  4. Wrist splint: keeps your wrists in a better position while you sleep to prevent bending them too much or for too long
how to relieve carpal tunnel pain

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Treatment

In addition to the home tips, there are several treatments available to help you if you are having carpal tunnel syndrome. Your physiotherapist can help you with:

  • Helping you find the best carpal tunnel brace
  • How to best modify your work routines and setup
  • Manual therapy
  • Proper rehab exercises for your wrist
  • Use of electrical modalities

Other treatments can include carpal tunnel surgery and medication.

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Frequently Asked Questions

How can I relieve carpal tunnel syndrome pain or tingling?

Some things that may help relieve your pain include taking more frequent breaks, keeping your wrist in a proper position and reducing your work load.

Using a wrist guard at night may help keep your wrist in a more neutral position. This can prevent tension from building up around your wrist and reduce your chances of having carpal tunnel syndrome symptoms

Can carpal tunnel syndrome go away?

Most cases of carpal tunnel syndrome can be relieved with rest, proper wrist support and physiotherapy treatment. More serious cases of carpal tunnel syndrome may need surgery and can have higher chances of recurring. For milder cases of carpal tunnel syndrome, sometimes shaking your hand can provide some temporary relief of numbness and tingling in your hand and fingers.

Does physiotherapy help wrist pain?

Absolutely! Your physiotherapist can help your wrist pain in many different ways. From finding out what is causing your wrist pain in the first place, to developing the best plan to help you relieve you pain or numbness.

They can make suggestions on proper ergonomic setup, provide treatment to relieve pain as well as guide on you the best wrist supports and braces to use

wrist physiotherapy near me

Start Feeling Better Now

If you are having numbness, tingling or weakness in your hands and wrists and are having trouble shaking it off, visit your physiotherapist. Your physio can help you find ways to relieve your carpal tunnel syndrome.

Schedule Your Visit

Click To Phone 604-738-1168