Your Doctor Says It's Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, Now What?

Your doctor says it's carpal tunnel syndrome, now what?

 I hope you took my advice and saw your doctor about your hand pain. I'm going to guess that if he told you he thought you had carpal tunnel syndrome, he probably gave you a brace (or a splint) and told you to come back in a month. Hopefully, he's referred you to a hand therapist or hand surgeon and now you're just waiting to see what happens next. Don't panic. Once you understand what it's all about, I think you'll feel a lot better. So, let's talk about it. What's next? First, let's talk about what carpal tunnel syndrome involves. Because if I've learned anything over the years, it's that people don't get a good explanation of what's going on in their hands. And as I always say, knowledge is power. Your "carpal tunnel" is the space at the base of your hand that is made up of several carpal bones and a strong ligament. Think of it this way: Make an "O" shape between your thumb and index finger. Now hold your arm with the palm facing the ceiling. The upper half of the circle is the neck. You have just created a mock-up of the carpal tunnel. Through this "tunnel" you have several tendons (that bend your fingers) and one very important nerve that controls the muscles in your thumb and also gives you a sense of your Over time, if these tendons swell, they crush the nerve against the wall (which is the ligament we talked about earlier) and that pinches the nerve and makes it stop working well. Usually, your first symptom is numbness or tingling, then hand pain at night, and eventually, you start dropping things as your thumb gets weaker (and you can't feel). This information is good to have so that you understand WHY the doctor wants you to wear a splint. You see, bending your wrist in either direction pinches the (already irritated) tunnel more, which cuts off the nerve supply and makes your symptoms worse. The purpose of the splint is to keep your wrist "straight" to keep the tunnel as open as possible. Sometimes a splint is all it takes to make a full recovery. Problem solved! Go ahead and make the "O" again with your thumb and forefinger. Now leave a small gap where your fingers should touch. When a surgeon performs a carpal tunnel release, he simply cuts this ligament in half to release the pressure that was pinching the nerve. It doesn't remove anything. It just opens up space for your nerve to "breathe" again. Easily! You will usually need to rest for a few weeks and maybe spend a few more therapies, but after that, you are good as new!