Carpal tunnel syndrome is a common condition that causes pain, numbness and tickling in the hand, fingers and arm.
This peripheral neuropathy occurs when the median nerve gets compressed inside the carpal tunnel, at wrist level.
The symptoms tend to appear gradually and manifest as a warm feeling, cramps or numbness of the hand or the fingers, especially the thumb or the index and middle finger.
These symptoms appear more frequently during night time, especially the feeling of numbness in the finger tips. A person with carpal tunnel syndrome can wake up with the feeling his hand is asleep.
What are the causes of carpal tunnel syndrome?
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is more common in people performing the same movement with the hand and wrist over and over again. Also the use of vibrating manual tools can cause this syndrome to appear.
Activities such as household chores, prolonged use of the computer mouse, assembly chain jobs, carpentry… can provoke the appearance of carpal tunnel syndrome.
This injury tends to appear in persons aged 30 to 60 and is more common in women than in men.
In reality, most cases of carpal tunnel syndrome are caused by a combination of factors, such as:
- Alcoholism
- Bone fractures and arthritis of the wrist
- Cyst of tumor growing inside the wrist
- Infections
- Obesity
- Additional liquids that accumulate inside the body during pregnancy or menopause.
- Rheumatoid arthritis
- Diabetes
- Thyroid disease
- Diseases that cause abnormal protein deposits inside the body (amyloidosis)
Symptoms of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
In the early stages, the symptoms are mild, but they can aggravate over the years:
- Clumsiness when trying to grab objects.
- Numbing and tickling of the thumb and the next two or three fingers of one or both hands.
- Numbing and tickling of the palm of the hand.
- Pain that extends to the elbow.
- Pain in the hand or wrist of one or both hands.
- Problems with fine motor skills (coordination) in one or both hands.
- Muscle atrophy below the thumb (in advanced or long-term cases)
- Weak hand grip or difficulty to lift heavy things.
- Weakness in one or both hands.
In most cases, the symptoms appear gradually. At first, the patients feel like the symptoms come and go. As the condition worsens, these symptoms appear more frequently and for longer periods of time.
This is why it is important to get a diagnosis in the early stages.
How to treat the carpal tunnel syndrome with tecar therapy
The most common treatments a patient diagnosed with carpal tunnel syndrome receives are:
- On the one hand, a conservative treatment: Using splints, avoiding sleeping on the wrist, application of hot and cold compresses, taking a series of ergonomic measures at home and at work, taking medicines,….
- On the other hand, if the symptoms persist, a surgical intervention may be necessary: liberation of the carpal tunnel.
One of the main aspects to take into account is that this pathology has an important inflammatory component of the structures that go through the tunnel.
If your patients are suffering from carpal tunnel syndrome, Capenergy’s second generation radiofrequency is an efficient way to treat the symptoms during recovery. By reducing the inflammation, the patient ‘s natural healing processes can take control of the body faster. Your patients will feel better and will sooner be able to return to their normal activities.
And with second generation Capenergy devices you can reduce this inflammation and therefore the pain experienced by the patient.
Would you like to learn more about Capenergy ‘s tecar therapy and how to treat different pathologies? Request your free demo.
