Numb hands, a warning sign of carpal tunnel syndrome. Know it in time and get treatment.
Numbness in the hands of working people is another problem that is increasingly common among people in all professions. Sometimes it does not cause pain, but it causes annoyance and greatly interferes with life. There are many causes of numbness in the hands. Ranging from tight shoulder blade muscles, inflammation of the nerves. To herniated discs. Another cause that is often talked about is numbness in the hands from carpal tunnel syndrome. Which is a disease that is not scary and can be easily prevented by yourself.
The doctor will take the reader to explore the แทงบอล UFABET ราคาดีที่สุด ไม่มีขั้นต่ำ warning signs so that they can be aware in time in order to prevent and treat it.
Causes of carpal tunnel syndrome
The anatomy of the human wrist area is fibrous tissue (in Thai called fascia tissue) surrounding the wrist area to act as a conduit for various structures in the forearm to be arranged in an orderly manner before running into the hand, including blood vessels, finger tendons. And the median nerve, which is responsible for receiving sensations in the palm side of the thumb, index finger, middle finger, and half of the ring finger. And also serves to nourish the small thumb abductor muscle (Abductor Pollicis Brevis Muscle) located at the cheek of our thumb base.
This fibrous tissue around the wrist runs across the wrist in a circle like a watch band. Hence it is called carpal tunnel. When this fibrous tissue thickens due to inflammation or friction. It squeezes the tendons, blood vessels and median nerve that run through the tunnel. Causing the sheath of the median nerve to gradually degenerate, resulting in numbness in the hand. This disease is therefore called Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.
Symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome
The most prominent symptom of this disease is numbness in the palm of the thumb, index finger, middle finger, and half of the ring finger. However, sometimes numbness in the whole hand can also occur. The numbness is usually in the form of a lighter touch than usual or a tingling sensation. It often occurs after waking up or after being still for a long time, especially in a wrist bending position (such as putting your hands together, using a mouse with your wrist bent up, etc.). The numbness usually disappears if you move or flick your wrist or change the position of your wrist.
When the disease progresses. Numbness will occur all the time. Along with the discovery that the muscles at the base of the thumb atrophies.
This can be observed from the muscles in that area not being as taut as usual and the grooves in the palm skin becoming more visible and wrinkled. If left untreated for a long time. This muscle will become weak, making it easy to pick up and drop objects. Resulting in worse hand use in daily life.
Who is affected by carpal tunnel syndrome?
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is generally more common in women than men. Which is believed to be due to the fact that women have smaller carpal tunnels. However, there are also other factors that can increase the risk of this condition, including:
- Daily life activities such as detailed work that requires a lot of finger use, especially handicrafts. Cause finger tendons to move a lot and rub until the carpal tunnel becomes thicker. Using a mouse with your wrist bent upright for many years causes pressure on the carpal tunnel for a long time. Wearing a watch that is too tight on the wrist all the time for a long time, etc.
- Obesity, which involves a lot of fat covering the wrist. Causes increased pressure in the carpal tunnel and more compression of the median nerve.
- Edema, especially in pregnant women
- Conditions that cause abnormalities around the wrist. Such as a fractured wrist bone or deformity of the hand and wrist bones from certain chronic arthritis conditions. Such as rheumatoid arthritis, etc.
- Other medical conditions that cause edema or neuropathy. Such as thyroid disease, chronic renal failure, or even menopause, can also increase the incidence of this disease.
Treatment and prevention of carpal tunnel syndrome
We can prevent carpal tunnel syndrome by using our hands and wrists appropriately and resting our hands. However, if symptoms start and are not treated. It can result in severe numbness that is painful and hand muscles are weak. This is because the thumb base muscle (Abductor Pollicis Brevis) is one of the main muscles that allow the hand to grip and hold objects tightly. In medicine, it is recommended to start treatment before symptoms are severe. That is. If you start to have numbness in your hand that is suspected to be carpal tunnel syndrome. You should see a doctor as soon as possible to ensure good treatment results and prevent it from getting worse to the point of losing hand function.
Self-treatment for numbness in the hands from carpal tunnel syndrome includes:
1.Reduce risk factors that cause carpal tunnel syndrome, such as wearing a watch or loosening the wristband. Using a mouse that is ergonomic. With a straight wrist and not using the wrist as a base for moving the mouse. And taking breaks from using the wrist and hand for long periods of time. Especially with handicrafts.
2.If the symptoms are not severe. You can soak in warm water for 20 minutes a day to reduce inflammation caused by pressure or friction of the carpal tunnel tissue every day. Also, practice Tendon Gliding Exercise to move your fingers, clenching and spreading. To allow the tendons to move smoothly and not press on the median nerve.
3.If self-care does not help, you should see a doctor to diagnose it differently from other diseases that cause numbness in the hand so that you can receive the correct treatment.
When you see a doctor and are diagnosed with symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome. Treatment options range from adjusting the use of your wrist and doing the exercises mentioned above. As well as physical therapy to reduce numbness, and medication to reduce numbness. Starting with oral medication. If there is no improvement, your doctor may recommend steroid injections for treatment, which usually improves the numbness quickly. If symptoms do not improve, another treatment option is surgery to widen the carpal tunnel.
All treatments can eliminate numbness in the hand and help prevent atrophy of the thumb base muscles. However, if the wrist is still used in a way that is risky, the symptoms will return sooner or later. Therefore, using the hand and wrist correctly is the most important thing to manage numbness in the hand from this cause sustainably.
In conclusion, numbness in the hand from carpal tunnel syndrome is caused by repeated use or incorrect use over a long period of time. It is not life-threatening. However, if it is not treated in the early stages, it can be annoying and affect the use of the hand in the future. Therefore, using the hand correctly and taking regular breaks from activities that use the hand can best prevent the occurrence of carpal tunnel syndrome.