›› Carpel Tunnel Syndrome
If like a majority
of the people, you work n front of a computer for over 8 hours a day,
and if you find yourself suffering from pain, numbness of the wrist,
and even a stinging sensation in your hands, you could be suffering
from carpal tunnel syndrome. Better known as repetitive stress
disorder, carpel tunnel syndrome is a crippling disability, that till
recently, was viewed more as a shirker’s excuse to stay away
from doing her/his work. But over 5 million Americans can’t
be shirkers! For that is the number being presented by the latest
survey regarding carpel tunnel syndrome sufferers in our nation!
Simply put, carpel tunnel syndrome is a work related injury that
affects those individuals, whose work demands that they spend time
doing activities that put pressure on the wrist and the wrist tendons.
Most users of computers for prolonged periods suffer from some degree
of the carpel tunnel syndrome. Others who are likely to suffer
debilitating effects are cashiers in banks and financial institutions,
computer operators, desktop publishing professionals, call center
professionals, assembly line workers, cash register operators and even
writers – all of whom spend their time at work doing
repetitive jobs with their wrists, thereby resulting in carpel tunnel
syndrome.
But carpel tunnel syndrome is not something that comes about abruptly.
It happens gradually, over time. Since it entails a nerve in the wrist
to be pressured, causing numbness and associated disability, the
process can take years to developed into a full blown case of carpel
tunnel syndrome. The typical symptoms of carpel tunnel syndrome begin
with a frequent pain or ache in the palms and wrists. This may lead to
numbness and/or tingling and itching. While the hands themselves may or
may not appear swollen, they will feel swollen and no amount of heat
treatment may make this sensation go away. These symptoms usually occur
during the night, when the wrist is resting. If not treated in the
initial stages, the symptoms of carpel tunnel syndrome only become more
pronounced, and begin manifesting themselves during the day as well.
Some of the symptoms of advanced stages of carpel tunnel syndrome
include clumsiness, frequent dropping of items held in the hands,
reduced grip capacity of the hands and even problems with dexterity and
coordination control.
Having recognized carpel tunnel syndrome as a genuine medical problem,
scientists and healthcare professionals have come up with a number of
devises and treatments to ameliorate the pain of sufferers. One of the
most commonly used among these treatments is what is known as
splinting. Just s a fractured bone is repaired using splints to set it
in its regular position, carpel tunnel syndrome too can be treated with
splinting. In most cases, it has been found that setting the wrist in a
strain-free position and splinting it for a length of time, may remove
the effects of carpel tunnel syndrome. There are also a range of oral
and superficial medications available to treat carpel tunnel syndrome.
The most common medications include anti inflammatory gels and
ointments, oral corticosteroids and even local injections of steroids
to relive inflammation and pain. In advanced or serious cases of carpel
tunnel syndrome, surgery may be required.
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A Healthy Dose of Good Advice
