The wrist has a complex anatomical structure. The muscle-nerve-vascular complex that provides finger and hand movements passes through here and distributes. A nerve that we call the median nerve, which provides movement and sensation of the thumb and index finger, passes through the middle of the inner surface of the wrist and divides into branches within the hand. The top of this nerve is covered with a thick protective Tandon at the level of the wrist and partly in the palm. This tendon thickens for various reasons towards middle age and causes compression of the nerve it protects underneath, causing wrist pain.
One of the most common causes of wrist pain is Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. The most common cause of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is tendon thickening due to overuse. Especially in jobs where finger and wrist movements are continuous, for example; It is more common in people who use computers intensively, people who knit, housewives who do intensive housework, and auto mechanics.
Among the risk factors of this disease: Obesity, Diabetes, Hypothyroidism and rheumatological joint diseases.
What are the complaints that occur in Carpal Tunnel Syndrome?
– Pain that occurs in the wrists and hands and becomes increasingly severe over time. The discomfort can sometimes be severe enough to wake you up from sleep and may spread to the arm and shoulder.
– Numbness or electric shock sensation in the hands and fingers. Numbness may be felt more intensely in the thumb, index and middle fingers.
– Loss of strength in the hand, difficulty in holding objects and dropping things.
– Feeling relief in pain by shaking the hand.
How to diagnose ?
Diagnosis is made by examining the detailed history of the complaints and other causes that may lead to this situation. Some of the patients diagnosed with cervical disc herniation and calcification also have wrist canal disease, and this condition is called double stenosis. Both the spinal cord and nerve root are compressed in the neck, and there is wrist canal stenosis.
The diagnosis is confirmed by neck MRI and ENMG (nerve electrode) examinations.
Hand-Wrist Canal Disease. Treatment
Initially,
·Preventing overuse, avoiding tasks that will put excessive strain on the wrist
·Painkillers and anti-inflammatory drugs anti-inflammatory drugs
·Wrist exercises
·Wrist splints, night splints
·Local or systemic cortisone injections are sufficient for most people.
However, over time, complaints begin again and the permanent solution is to release the nerve with a simple surgical intervention. Under local or general anesthesia, a 1-2 centimeter incision is made from the wrist to the palm using a microscope, and the band on the nerve is cut, eliminating the compression of the nerve. This method causes permanent relief. Following wrist rest for 3-5 days after the surgery, the patient returns to his normal life.
Our recommendations:
·When using a typewriter and computer, rest your hands from time to time.
>·Be careful in situations where a lot of effort is put on the wrist during household chores.
·Do not lie on your wrist while sleeping.
·If you wake up with numbness in your hands, especially at night, and if your sleep is interrupted, it means that wrist-canal disease has begun.
Note: Surgical intervention in carpal tunnel syndrome is performed in the last stages of the disease, that is, if noninvasive methods do not provide sufficient benefit. When using the various treatment methods offered by complementary medicine, long-term recovery is achieved and the success rate is 80-90%. These treatment methods; They are preferred over surgeries worldwide because they are restorative, non-invasive and most importantly, uncomplicated.
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