fLearning about Your Joints: Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Diagnosis
Do you work a lot, type a lot, and use your joints a lot? Are you usually tense and under stress? If you have been feeling pain in your wrist area, numbness in certain areas of your hand, weak muscles in your hand and forearm, and general fatigue in this area of your body, then you may be experiencing carpal tunnel syndrome. In order to make a conclusion on your condition, you will need to undergo carpal tunnel syndrome diagnosis.
Carpal tunnel syndrome, or CTS, has only recently become popular to the public. This is due to the fact that in the late 1900’s, office jobs increased in number and intensity: work also involved constant typing and computer-related activities, so that wrist pain became all the more prevalent. According to statistics, carpal tunnel syndrome is more common in women, and it can peak at around a woman’s early 40’s.
What are the Symptoms of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome? Carpal tunnel syndrome first manifests a little after awakening from sleep. The person affected with CTS may feel numbness in his or her fingers, which can start off as a tingling, or burning sensation that creeps into the thumb, along with the index and middle fingers. Such symptoms usually occur at night because most people sleep with their wrists bent. This position compresses the hand’s carpal tunnel.
Running through this tunnel is the median nerve. It is this nerve that is compressed, and which sends pain signals to the brain. If this nerve is under stress, the hand cannot grip properly, or it can be painful for the hand to close into a fist. If your median nerve is under stress, you will often drop objects that you are holding, and you can feel that your arms and hands are weak. Although you might believe that your blood circulation is simply restricted and that your hand is going through the normal process of falling asleep, you still might be a candidate for carpal tunnel syndrome.
How is Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Diagnosed? Carpal tunnel syndrome is best diagnosed by taking a complete history of the patient’s family and his or her physical and work-related activities, as well as conducting a physical examination of the patient in order to give a conclusion on the patient’s condition. There are several maneuvers that are done on the troubled area in order to see how affected or compressed the median nerve is.
- A procedure called Phalen’s maneuver involves flexing the wrist as far back as possible, and in as gentle a manner as possible. Once held in this position, the carpal tunnel undergoes compression, and the median nerve should help signal a diagnosis. If numbness results from this test, then the patient may have carpal tunnel syndrome. The condition can be diagnosed as fairly advanced if the numbness starts quickly.
- Orthopedists can perform a light tapping over the area of the median nerve. This tapping, or percussing, is the search for Tinel’s sign. Tinel’s sign is a classic test, although admittedly less specific, of carpal tunnel syndrome. If the tapping induces tingling in the distribution of the median nerve, then the patient may have carpal tunnel syndrome.
- Although still awaiting standardization, a carpal compression test has been proposed by some researchers as a way to diagnose carpal tunnel syndrome. An orthopedist can apply some pressure on the area of the palm that sits on the median nerve; if the symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome appear, then a positive diagnosis may be made.
In some cases, however, a combination of complete patient history and an examination of the patient will not yield a conclusive diagnosis. Orthopedists can then carry out nerve conduction studies on the median nerve, to check if it is being compressed or stressed. If carpal tunnel syndrome is suspected, muscle bundles can also be checked, or the patient can undergo magnetic resonance imaging. Ultrasound imaging is also used to check for carpal tunnel syndrome.
Undergoing Carpal Tunnel Release Surgery If you are diagnosed with carpal tunnel syndrome, your doctor may recommend that you undergo carpal tunnel release surgery in order to relieve you of your symptoms. Depending on the degree of your carpal tunnel syndrome’s severity, you may start on medication and physical therapy first; or you may immediately have the carpal tunnel release surgery performed on you.
Carpal tunnel release surgery can take on many forms: doctors can make incisions in the palm or wrist, or they can cut the transverse carpal ligament. These options can allow for rapid recovery, and they will leave small scars. In general, you might undergo either open-hand surgery, or the less invasive endoscopic surgery. The latter type is growing in popularity, as it presents faster recovery time. In endoscopic surgery, your doctor can use a small camera to probe through your carpal tunnel, and use small instruments to treat your injuries.
With the proper carpal tunnel syndrome diagnosis, you can be sure to recover faster. All you need is a skilful orthopedic surgeon, a lot of rest on your part, and a good deal of patience, and you will be back at work in no time.