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The goal of carpal
tunnel treatment is to allow you to return to the daily normal functions and
routine activities. This is also to address other health conditions if
they are aggravating your symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome.
More than the above is to reduce any inflammation of tissues in the wrist
that puts pressure on the median nerve. It is also to determine the causes
of your carpal tunnel symptoms. You can then identify whether there are
certain dealings for you to avoid or do differently and ways you can help
prevent the condition. Another is also to prevent nerve damage and loss of
muscle strength in your fingers and hand.
Carpal tunnel treatment is based on the seriousness of the condition,
whether there is any nerve damage and whether other remedies have helped.
Options include with surgery or without surgery.
* Carpal tunnel treatment without surgery
If your symptoms are not severe, expect your health professional to
recommend nonsurgical kind of carpal tunnel treatment to see whether
symptoms improve. This includes the following:
1. Evaluating any other medical conditions that might contribute to carpal
tunnel syndrome, and changing your treatment for those conditions if
necessary.
2. Changing or avoiding activities that may be causing symptoms, and taking
frequent breaks from repetitive tasks.
3. Wearing a wrist splint to keep your wrist straight, usually just at
night. See an illustration of a wrist splint.
4. Using nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) to relieve pain and
reduce inflammation. Although studies have not shown NSAIDs to be effective
for carpal tunnel syndrome, they may help you to relieve symptoms.
5. Doing exercises to stretch and strengthen the muscles in the hand and
arm.
6. Learning ways to protect your joints as you go through your daily
activities.
* Carpal tunnel treatment with surgery
Surgery is sometimes recommended when other carpal tunnel treatment has not
helped- if a carpal tunnel condition has continued for a long time or if
there is risk of nerve damage. Surgery is usually successful. In some cases
it does not completely relieve the numbness and pain in the fingers or hand.
This may be the case if there has been permanent nerve damage caused by
long-standing carpal tunnel syndrome or by underlying conditions such as
diabetes.
The two kinds of surgery are:
1. Open carpal tunnel release is the traditional procedure used to correct
carpal tunnel syndrome. It consists of making an incision up to two inches
in the wrist and then cutting the ligament to enlarge the carpal tunnel.
This procedure is generally done under local anesthesia on an outpatient
basis, unless there are unusual medical considerations.
2. Endoscopic carpal tunnel release may allow faster functional recovery and
less postoperative discomfort than the other one. The doctor make two
incisions in the wrist and palm, inserts a camera attached to the tube,
observes the tissue on a screen and cuts the carpal ligament.
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