Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS) is a painful affliction of the hand and wrist. Any repetitive hand and/or wrist motion can lead to CTS. Before preventing CTS, we need to understand its actual cause. How do we bend our wrist and move our hand? A nerve impulse travels from our brain, down our spinal cord, through our arm to the median nerve. This is the large nerve that connects directly with the muscles of our hand (not all of them, but most of the ones which bend our wrist and close our fist). These muscles then contract, causing them to pull on a tendon (the part of the muscle which attaches to the bone). When the tendon is pulled, the hand bends at the wrist joint and the fingers bend inward. At the base of your hand are eight carpal bones, which along with the ends of the two forearm bones (radius and ulna), form the wrist. The carpal bones are held together by tough, fibrous tissue called ligaments. Unlike tendons, ligaments attach bones to other bones, not for movement, but stability. These transverse ligaments are positioned over the median nerve and hand muscle tendons. The median nerve and the tendons sit inside a sandwich, bone on the bottom and ligaments on top. This sandwich is called the carpal tunnel. Now you can visualize why repetitive wrist bending or finger flexing can overtax the tendons that operate within the narrow space of the tunnel. Bending the wrist normally compresses the tunnel contents. With overuse, the sheath around these tendons may become inflamed (tenosynovitis) or the tendons themselves may swell (tendinitis). With this swelling, the space in the carpal tunnel shrinks, putting pressure on the median nerve. Pressure on a nerve may result in pain, muscle weakness, numbness and tingling. If you begin to feel such sensations in your hand, it could be a warning sign that you are developing CTS.
Your physical therapist can provide treatment to relieve symptoms of CTS and educate you on proper posture and body mechanics. Wrist splints may be necessary to keep your wrist/hand in a neutral, non-bending position. If severe, your doctor may determine surgery is the best solution. Just remember, there is light at the end of the carpal tunnel.
For more information, contact Sierra Canyon Physical Therapy, located at 27225 Camp Plenty Road, Suite 6 in Canyon Country, by calling 661-298-0140.