5 Ways to Prevent Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Pain

Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is an overuse injury that affects the median nerve as it passes through the wrist. It’s an extremely common problem. About three out of every 1,000 people in the US experience CTS each year.

Our expert team of neurologists at Memphis Neurology specializes in diagnosing and treating neuromuscular conditions, including carpal tunnel syndrome. If you’re experiencing pain, numbness, and tingling in your wrists and hands, chances are good you’ve got CTS, and we can help. In the meantime, we want to share five ways you can prevent or manage CTS pain.

What causes CTS?

The carpal tunnel is a space in your wrist bones that allows ligaments, tendons, and nerves to pass through and reach the hand.

CTS occurs when something irritates or puts extra pressure on the median nerve that also runs through your carpal tunnel. Some common causes are swelling of the tissues and inflammation, which block the space meant for the median nerve. Anything that leads to swelling and inflammation can be to blame, such as:

Repetitive strain injuries (e.g. jackhammer, typing)
Arthritis
Sprains
Wrist fractures
Ganglion cysts

The median nerve allows you to move your forearm and feel sensation in most of your fingers and hands. If it’s damaged or pressed against the carpal tunnel walls, it sends too many signals, or incorrect ones, to your hand and wrist.

If you’re having symptoms of CTS, it’s important that you get treatment. It responds well to available treatment options, but only if it’s treated soon enough.

What are the symptoms of CTS?

The most common symptoms include:

Numbness in your wrist, hand, or fingers (especially the tips)
Pain in your wrist, hand, or fingers
Tingling
Trouble using your hands to hold or control objects (e.g., holding the phone or a pen, typing on a keyboard, grabbing the steering wheel)

Carpal tunnel syndrome usually develops slowly, which means you might notice only minor symptoms at first, usually at night. However, left untreated, they’ll get worse over time.

Treating carpal tunnel syndrome

There are a number of treatments to help relieve the symptoms of CTS.

First is wrist splinting. You wear a splint over your wrists while you sleep to relieve tingling and numbness at night and help prevent symptoms during the day.

A second option is corticosteroids. The doctor may inject the carpal tunnel with a corticosteroid medicine such as cortisone that relieves inflammation and pressure on the median nerve. Oral corticosteroids are not considered effective over time. Sometimes, an ultrasound is used to guide these injections.

If an inflammatory form of arthritis causes your CTS, then many doctors believe a third option is treating arthritis, which should reduce symptoms of CTS; however, no research has backed up this claim.

If conservative treatments aren’t effective, you may need surgery. The goal of whichever procedure your doctor chooses is to relieve pressure on the nerve by cutting the ligament and holding it down.

5 ways to prevent carpal tunnel syndrome pain

You may find temporary relief of pain and other symptoms in a number of ways:

Take short, frequent breaks if you perform repetitive activities with your hands.
Frequently rotate your wrists and stretch the palms and fingers
Take a n OTC pain reliever like acetaminophen (Tylenol® or generic), aspirin, ibuprofen (Advil®, Motrin IB®, or generic), or naproxen sodium (Aleve® or generic)
Wear a snug but not tight wrist splint when you sleep. They’re available at most pharmacies
Don’t sleep on your hands

Bonus tip: If you’re overweight, losing weight will relieve pressure in the carpal tunnel and reduce or eliminate your pain.

If you’re experiencing carpal tunnel syndrome pain, the best thing you can do is come to Memphis Neurology to consult with one of our specialists. Call us at either our Southaven, Mississippi, or Germantown, Tennessee, location, or book online today.