What is Carpal Tunnel Syndrome - Where to Buy Carpal Tunnel Splints Braces Online?

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome also known as CTS is caused due to repetitive strain injury. It is a condition characterized by numbness, pain, a prickling needle sensation, and weakness of fingers, mainly affecting the thumb and 2 adjacent fingers. Carpal Tunnel Syndrome may begin suddenly or gradually and usually affects both hands. If not treated on time, this syndrome can cause permanent damage to the muscles of median nerve distribution and hands. If carpal tunnel syndrome is acute and proper treatment is provided with the help of medications and carpal tunnel splints or wrist brace during night and wristbands during the day, there is an excellent chance of complete recovery for the patient. In cases of chronic carpal tunnel syndrome, surgery may be required. The numbness, pain, muscle weakness, and needle-like sensation of CTS is due to constant pressure on the median nerve because of long-term keyboard use and many other factors. The median nerve is a nerve that enters our hand via the carpal tunnel and carries signals from our hand to brain. At the wrist, the median nerve and several other tendons (which also allow flexion of the fingers and thumb) pass through the carpal tunnel. Carpal tunnel is actually a tunnel set up by the carpal bones (wrist) and soft tissue. The most common cause of carpal tunnel syndrome is inflammation or swelling around the tendon and nerve, which therefore increases the pressure within the carpal tunnel. This increased pressure caused mainly due to overuse affects the median nerve function causing the typical symptoms of this syndrome.

WHAT ARE THE SYMPTOMS OF CARPAL TUNNEL SYNDROME?

As mentioned above, if you have carpal tunnel syndrome, you may feel some or all of the following symptoms:

• Pain, sensation of needles, and numbness in the thumb, index, middle, and ring fingers.

• A pricking needle sensation throughout the hand due to repetitive strain.

• Pain, which radiates from the hand up toward the forearm and can get to the shoulder.

• A feeling of swelling of fingers that is not visible.

ALSO YOU MAY NOTICE:

• Carpal tunnel syndrome symptoms to be worse at night.

• Your hand will feel weak in the morning after repetitive strain at work.

• Your hands will become weak thereby causing you to slip things from your hand.

• You will experience trouble squeezing or grasping small objects with the help of your fingers.

ALSO IT WILL BE HARD FOR YOU TO DO CERTAIN TASKS WITH YOUR HANDS LIKE:

• Buttoning your shirt

• Writing with a pen

• Removing the lid from a jar.

• Opening or closing a door.

Moreover, you will experience loss of muscle mass at the base of the thumb leading to loss of overall strength and health of the hands. At first, the symptoms of CTS come and go, but then aggravate due to overuse and repetitive strain to the hand. Sometimes, you will feel no symptoms when the hand is at rest. As the condition worsens and there is more pressure on the median nerve, you may experience numbness of the hand throughout the day requiring wristbands.

TREATMENT FOR ACUTE CARPAL TUNNEL SYNDROME WITH CARPAL TUNNEL SPLINT OR BRACE

The aim of treatment for carpal tunnel syndrome is to reduce pain and prevent this syndrome from progressing any further, as it can cause further weakness of the hands. The type of treatment for CTS depends on the severity of CT syndrome and may include any or all of the following conservative measures:

• Carpal tunnel splint or orthopedic wrist brace which can be used to keep your wrist straight while you are sleeping at night.
• If symptoms persist despite carpal tunnel splinting, you can also use a carpal tunnel wristband during the day.

The benefits of carpal tunnel wrist splint, orthopedic wrist braces, and wristbands is to immobilize your wrist and give it some rest, as this will reduce edema that is caused due to repetitive strain injury. Your occupational therapist can make a wrist splint for you but you also have the option to buy an over the counter carpal tunnel splint online. If the condition is very severe or your orthopedic doctor has given you the diagnosis of chronic carpal tunnel syndrome, then you may need to have pain management with cortisone injections, pain medicines, or carpal tunnel surgery information to which I will provide in my next article.