Carpal Tunnel Syndrome- Early identification and treatment is key to full recovery.

Carpal tunnel Syndrome is a condition when you start feeling numbness in your fingers, mostly this occurs in the early morning after sleep. It is when your nerve(structure used by body to carry sensations form your skin to brain, and instructions to muscles from the Brain) named Median Nerve develops some conduction block due to compression at the site of passing under a tunnel at the wrist called Carpal tunnel

This occurs more commonly in females, although males are also affected. The symptoms are commonly seen in pregnant females, premenstrual period, hypothyroidism and other hormonal disorders, but this could also occur without any identifiable reason (known as Idiopathic). These days more men are also seen affected due to over use of computer keyboard, where while typing they keep there wrist flexed.

You need to consult a Hand Surgeon if you are facing with such problems, Your doctor would do some tests on you and examine you for conduction block in your nerve. He/She may also order for some electrophysiological investigations known as NCV(Nerve Conduction Velocity)

Once the diagnosis is established, it would be necessary to intervene and depending on your symptoms and duration of symptoms, your doctor may advice a splint or local injection or  surgical release to decompress your tunnel and let the nerve breath.

After you have a surgery, regular check ups and exercises are advised which should be regularly done to prevent any adhesions of the nerve to the scar.

The early you recognize your symptoms, the better it is for the nerve and the prognosis is also good. In late stages even surgical decompression may not be of much help in recovery of the wasted muscles, although it may give good symptomatic relief.