Carpal Tunnel syndrome is a condition that can cause huge amounts of pain, nerve changes and loss of function in the hand, forearm and wrist.
It typically causes issues in the thumb and first 2.5 fingers as shown in the picture here. It’s important to note that it doesn’t include the other fingers or parts of the hand (and hence why it’s often frustratingly misdiagnosed and therefore not treated correctly)…
Carpal tunnel syndrome is caused by a compression of the median nerve as it runs through your arm, either in the hand, the wrist, further up the arm or as the nerve comes out of the spine at the neck.
Most commonly, people with this condition report pain, numbness, tingling, loss of strength and swelling through the hand. The condition can come on for a number of reasons such as acute injury, repetitive overuse of the area, pregnancy and hormone changes or even as a secondary issue to neck pain.
This usually results in a lot of issues doing all your day to day activities, whether it’s your work activities, driving, sleeping, simple household chores or sporting and leisure pastimes. It can be a real nuisance of a thing!
As an OT, I have a lot of experience treating people with carpal tunnel syndrome. OTs have a lot of practical tools for treating people with this condition so you can get back to doing all the things you love quickly, without the pain.
If you, or someone you know is experiencing carpal tunnel or any other hand/upper limb issues, feel free to get in touch.
Contact me if you’d like to chat about anything before booking in an OT session, otherwise you can book online directly here.