What are the Symptoms of Carpal Tunnel?

What are the Symptoms of Carpal Tunnel?

Carpel tunnel is a tubular passageway located in the wrist that houses major nerves and flexor muscles of the hand. The carpal tunnel syndrome is a condition wherein the median nerve that runs down to the palm through the forearm gets compressed, as a result of increased pressure inside the carpal tunnel. There are several reasons such as trauma to the wrist, inappropriate hand movements and tumor growth inside the carpal tunnel causing it to swell and weigh down the nerves passing through it.

Carpal tunnel syndrome is characterized by painful and weak hands. Let us see what the exact symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome are.

• Median nerve is responsible for the muscle function and sensation in the palm, thumb, index and middle fingers and the lateral half of the ring finger. So, people with carpal tunnel syndrome exhibit stinging and tingling sensation and alternate episodes of numbness in these areas of the hand.
• Most people have difficulty in flexing their thumb away from the palm, at a right angle.
• Flexing the wrist causes severe pain that is similar to pricks of a needle.
• The parts governed by the median nerve become rigid, especially when a person wakes up in the morning.
• The hand tends to become weak and loses its ability to grip onto the objects. A person might find it very difficult to hold a spoon or a toothbrush, sometimes causing them to fall off from their hand.
• In some cases, a person might experience pain that extends up to their elbow through the forearm.
• Carpel tunnel syndrome generally affects the sleep pattern, because the pain tends to elevate at night due to the simple fact that people often sleep with flexed wrists.
• The affected hand tends to lose its sensitivity. The person might not feel anything on being touched on their hand. In extreme cases, they cannot tell a difference between hot and cold objects.
• The hand might look slightly inflamed. Discoloration of skin may occur depending upon the severity of the disorder.

Summary

Carpal tunnel syndrome is a common disorder that may affect one or both hands. Primarily caused due to compression in the carpal tunnel that affects the median nerve, this disorder leaves a person’s hand to swing between pain and numbness. A person may exhibit initial symptoms of a mild pain. An untreated episode can lead to severe pain and ultimately muscle atrophy.

Posted by George Daniels on Thursday January 30 2014, 3:30 AM EST. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Health. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0