Carpal Tunnel Syndrome can be described easily. Grab a straw, and squeeze it. Now try to drink through it. You can’t, because the airway is being impinged. That’s the same thing that is happening to your nerves when you have carpal tunnel syndrome. This causes the nerve to be irritated and causes pain.
To solve this issue, the tissue around the nerve, the carpal tunnel, is widened to allow the nerve to work without interruption. This creates a smooth working wrist and enables the patient to go back to their normal life after the surgery. The Carpal Tunnel isn’t the actual nerve, it’s actually the sheath that the nerve travels through.
What causes Carpal Tunnel problems? There are a variety of reasons, not limited to:
- Heredity. This is likely an important factor. The carpal tunnel may be smaller in some people or there may be anatomic differences that change the amount of space for the nerve—and these traits can run in families.
- Repetitive hand use. Repeating the same hand and wrist motions or activities over a prolonged period of time may aggravate the tendons in the wrist, causing swelling that puts pressure on the nerve.
- Hand and wrist position. Doing activities that involve extreme flexion or extension of the hand and wrist for a prolonged period of time can increase pressure on the nerve.
- Pregnancy. Hormonal changes during pregnancy can cause swelling.
- Health conditions. Diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, and thyroid gland imbalance are conditions that are associated with carpal tunnel syndrome.
When these factors combine with the nerve’s general vulnerability at one of the most used (and abused) portions of human anatomy at the wrist, Carpal Tunnal Syndrome becomes common.
Call Neuropax Clinic today if you are experiencing wrist pain, numbness, tingling, burning, occasional shocks, weakness or clumsiness or occasional loss of feeling in your wrists and hands. To make an appointment with Dr. Rob Hagan call 314-434-7784 and visit www.neuropaxclinic.com to learn more about Carpal Tunnel Surgery in St. Louis.
