This syndrome causes symptoms such as pain, numbness, paresthesia, and muscle weakness in the fingers and hands.
Kaley Cuoco, a famous American actress, 37, confirmed that she had carpal tunnel syndrome while holding her baby. The actress often shares pictures of her holding her 4-month-old daughter on her personal page. She began to feel numbness and tingling in her fingers and hands.
Despite this, Kaley Cuoco continues to do strength training exercises without using her… hands. She also found a way to use reformer equipment to do Pilates without using her hands. She does aerobics, works out on the treadmill, and does ab exercises with a yoga ball. She always wears a wrist brace during her workouts.
Kaley Cuoco, a famous American actress, 37 years old, confirmed that she had carpal tunnel syndrome while holding her baby.
Carpal tunnel syndrome is a common condition caused by compression of the median nerve as it passes through the carpal tunnel, a rectangular space formed by the wrist bones and the carpal ligament.
This condition causes symptoms such as pain, numbness, paresthesia, and muscle weakness in the fingers and hands, especially in the skin area supplied by the median nerve (thumb, index finger, middle finger, and the outer half of the ring finger). Symptoms often occur at night or during work involving frequent and repetitive wrist movements.
Causes of carpal tunnel syndrome
Carpal tunnel syndrome can have many different causes, the most common of which are flexor tenosynovitis or wrist joint diseases.
Other risk factors include pregnancy, gout, hypothyroidism, rheumatoid arthritis, diabetes, or chronic alcohol use.
This syndrome is common in middle-aged women, more common in women than men. Workers who use their wrists frequently, meticulously and repetitively, such as using a computer mouse, sewing, doing nails... are also at higher risk.
Carpal tunnel syndrome is a common cause of numbness and pain in the hand. It is becoming more and more common, especially in office workers who spend too much time typing on the computer.
Warning signs of carpal tunnel syndrome
Symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome include:
- Vague feeling of swollen fingers.
- Numbness, tingling, burning, and pain in the hands, occurring mainly in the thumb, index finger, middle finger, and part of the ring finger; numbness sometimes spreads to the forearm and arm.
- Pain or tingling may travel up the forearm toward the shoulder.
- More severe cases will cause weak and clumsy hands, muscle pain, cramps and can make it difficult to perform movements that are normally done well such as holding objects, buttoning clothes, using the phone, driving or reading...
Dropping objects due to numbness in the hand or loss of awareness of the hand's position in space.
Diagnosis of carpal tunnel syndrome
Diagnosis of carpal tunnel syndrome is based on clinical signs and symptoms and confirmed by nerve conduction velocity testing or electromyography. These tests help determine the extent and location of median nerve damage. Additional tests may be needed to rule out other causes of symptoms.
Carpal tunnel syndrome treatment
Treatment of carpal tunnel syndrome may include nonsurgical or surgical measures.
Non-surgical measures include:
- Limit activities that irritate the wrist.
- Wear a wrist splint at night to reduce pressure on the median nerve.
- Use nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) to reduce inflammation and pain.
- Corticosteroid injections into the carpal tunnel to reduce swelling and inflammation.
- Perform therapeutic exercises for the wrist and hand.
If nonsurgical measures are not effective or the condition is severe, surgery may be needed to widen the carpal tunnel and relieve pressure on the median nerve.
Surgery can be performed using two methods: open surgery or endoscopic surgery. Surgery usually has good results, helping to improve symptoms and hand function.
Carpal tunnel syndrome is a common condition that can cause a lot of trouble for the patient. However, if diagnosed early and treated promptly, this condition can be completely cured and recovered. Patients need to follow the doctor's instructions and take preventive measures to avoid recurrence.