Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS)

Carpal tunnel syndrome is a painful and inconvenient health condition which is caused by pressure on the nerves around the wrist joint.

In this article:

What is the carpal tunnel?

What is carpal tunnel syndrome?

Symptoms

Causes

Diagnosis

Effect on your life

Treatment

How Chemist Online can help

Advice & Support

What is the carpal tunnel?
The carpal tunnel is the ‘passageway’ which lies between the carpal bones and a ligament called the retinaculum that lies across the front of the wrist.

What is carpal tunnel syndrome?
Carpal tunnel syndrome develops through too much stress being placed upon the median nerve in the wrist. The median nerve connects to your hand and is the ‘controlling nerve’ when it comes to feeling and sensation in the fingers and thumb.

Symptoms
The general symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome include:

A painful, tingling sensation in the wrist

Weakness in the forearm

Hand weakness and a tingling sensation there

A feeling of burning in the hand and wrist (and sometimes in the forearm)

An intermittent searing pain shooting down your back from your neck and shoulders

Symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome can range from mild to severe.

Causes
Carpal tunnel syndrome can occur as a result of:

A hand or wrist injury of some sort

Playing too much tennis (or another racquet sport, such as badminton or squash where there is continual stress and pressure placed upon the forearm, wrist and hand)

Rheumatoid arthritis

Bone cancer

Repetitive use of a computer keyboard, mobile phone or other device where continuous pressing down of the fingers (and therefore wrist and wrist/hand muscle movement) is involved. Although there is no clinical evidence as such where computer use being a cause of carpal tunnel syndrome is concerned, it is vital that you adopt a correct posture when working at a keyboard or keyboard-activated console of some sort.

Diagnosis
If you are suffering from the aforementioned symptoms and think that you may have carpal tunnel syndrome, arrange an appointment with your GP. After taking your medical history, asking you some questions about your symptoms, and carrying out a short examination, your GP will make a decision as to whether you need to be referred to a specialist (a neurologist) at your local hospital. There, a confirmed diagnosis can be made based upon the results of a nerve conduction test.

Effect on your life
Although carpal tunnel syndrome can make using your hand and wrist difficult to use in the day-in-day-out (even when carrying out the lightest of tasks), your symptoms may be at their worst at night and therefore cause you to have disturbed sleep.

Treatment
Although there is no actual cure for carpal tunnel syndrome, treatment options which are intended to ease symptoms include steroid injections (to reduce inflammation) and surgery to the front of the wrist.

How Chemist Online can help
Through this website we have a range of painkilling remedies/treatments available to buy which can help ease the associated symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome such as muscular and skeletal pain.



www.chemistonline.co.uk


Advice & Support
Arthritis Research Campaign
Tel. 0870 850 5000
Website: www.arc.org.uk


This information and advice is not intended to replace the advice of your GP or chemist. Chemist Online is also not responsible or liable for any diagnosis made by a user based upon the content of the Chemist Online website. Chemist Online is also not liable for the contents of any external internet sites listed, nor does it endorse any commercial product or service mentioned or advised on any of the sites.





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