You’ve probably heard of people talking about their hands going numb and carpal tunnel syndrome. However, you might not understand everything pertaining to this common syndrome that occurs in many people. Common questions that you have can be answered when you visit your doctor so that you can make the best decision about the treatment options that are available.
What are the Signs and Symptoms?
There is a nerve that is located in your hand called the median nerve. When this nerve is compressed, it can cause numbness or a tingling sensation in the affected hand. Most of the time, you’ll notice this feeling in your thumb and forefinger more than your other fingers. If you work with your hands a lot during the day, especially performing the same tasks over and over again, you might develop carpal tunnel syndrome more than someone who doesn’t use their hands as often. Most of the time, your symptoms are mild to moderate in the early stages of carpal tunnel syndrome. The nerve tunnel gradually swells instead of swelling at one time, which is why you’ll usually notice tingling or numbness from time to time before your hands are in severe pain and numb for the majority of the time during the day in some instances.
You might experience more pain and numbness at night that can wake you up while you’re sleeping. Sometimes, it can be difficult to hold items in your hands. It can also be hard to pick up items that were once easy to grasp because of the swelling in your hands or because of the numbness that you experience.
What is Done to Diagnose Carpal Tunnel Syndrome?
Most of the time, your doctor can give you an indication as to whether or not you have carpal tunnel syndrome by examining your symptoms. Your doctor can also examine your hands and perform a few tests to determine if you experience any numbness when your hands are in a certain position. Another option would be to conduct a nerve stimulation test to determine the severity of the syndrome by examining how long it takes for sensations to reach your hand and wrist from areas of your arm.
What are Common Treatment Options?
A wrist splint can be worn if you have mild carpal tunnel symptoms. Steroids can also be injected in your wrists to try to decrease the swelling of the tunnel. If symptoms don’t go away or they are severe when you see your doctor, then surgery might be the first option that’s explored.
Get in Touch with Us for More Information
To get all of your questions about carpal tunnel answered, we warmly invite you to reach out and make an appointment with La Grange Chiropractic! At our convenient location in La Grange, KY, our caring and dedicated team of professionals will be pleased to explain this option to you in full and answer any questions you may have. Contact us today to set up your consultation – we look forward to speaking with you!