Carpal Tunnel Syndrome: Causes, Symptoms And Treatment
In this short video, Dr. Jason Garrett defines Carpal Tunnel syndrome, elaborates on why traditional therapies are often not effective, and explains Airrosti’s method of treatment for this common yet misunderstood ailment. By targeting the problem at the source, Airrosti eliminates the pain quickly in an average of just three visits. Click here to learn more about what to expect at your first visit to Airrosti.
Carpal tunnel syndrome is pain, tingling, and other problems in the hand due to pressure on the median nerve in the wrist. The median nerve provides feeling and movement to the “thumb side” of the hand. The area in your wrist where the nerve enters the hand is called the carpal tunnel. This tunnel is normally narrow, so any swelling can pinch the nerve and cause pain, numbness, tingling, or weakness associated with carpal tunnel syndrome.
Symptoms usually start gradually, with frequent burning, tingling, or itching numbness in the palm of the hand and the fingers, especially the thumb and the index and middle fingers. Some carpal tunnel sufferers say their fingers feel useless and swollen, even though little or no swelling is visibly apparent. The symptoms often first appear in one or both hands during the night. You may wake up feeling the need to “shake out” the hand or wrist. As symptoms worsen, you may feel tingling during the day accompanied by decreased grip strength.
Carpal tunnel syndrome is common in people who perform repetitive motions of the hand and wrist. Typing on a computer keyboard is probably the most common cause of carpal tunnel. Women are three times more likely than men to develop carpal tunnel syndrome, perhaps because the carpal tunnel itself may be smaller in women than in men. The dominant hand is usually affected first and produces the most severe pain.
Despite its name, carpal tunnel syndrome is rarely caused by an actual defect in the carpal tunnel (the wrist bones and connective tissue that house the median nerve, tendons, arteries, and veins), but rather adhesions on the fascia surrounding this area.
Often traditional treatments only focus on the symptoms and fail to treat the true cause of the syndrome. Some of the current procedures offered for carpal tunnel are night/day braces, cortisone shots and restraint from activity. Very seldom do these treatments address what is actually irritating the median nerve. Although symptoms may improve with traditional treatment, more than 50% of cases eventually require surgery.
Carpal tunnel release is one of the most common surgical procedures in the United States. Many patients require surgery on both hands. Surgery is often successful, but full healing can take months. Some patients may have infection, nerve damage, stiffness, and pain at the scar. Occasionally the wrist loses strength because the carpal ligament is cut. Patients are encouraged to undergo physical therapy after surgery to restore wrist strength. Some patients may need to adjust job duties or even change jobs after recovery from surgery. It is also possible for the condition to reoccur even after successful surgery.
Unlike the traditional approach to carpal tunnel syndrome, Airrosti’s approach is designed to address and correct the root cause of carpal tunnel syndrome. As a result, patients return to pain free activity within 1-3 visits — avoiding uncomfortable and frustrating braces, painful shots, and costly and invasive surgical procedures. Further, because the correct source of the condition is treated, symptoms are not likely to return.
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