Carpal tunnel occurs when the median nerve, which travels down the length of your arm and into your hand, becomes compressed by a ligament that overlaps it and pushes it into the part of your wrist known as the carpal tunnel. According to Harvard Health Publishing, carpal tunnel is characterized by tingling or numbness in your fingers that comes and goes, pain and numbness that grows worse over time and difficulty grasping objects, such as a pen or fork. It is not uncommon for the pain to wake individuals up at night. If you live with carpal tunnel, you may wonder if there is a cure for the condition. The short answer is yes.
If your case of carpal tunnel is mild, your doctor may recommend wearing a splint and resting your hands. If the symptoms wake you up at night, you may be tempted to shake your hand around to reduce numbness and pain. While this may work, the Harvard journal suggests taking ibuprofen or aspirin. Though medications are not a cure, they can help make your sleep more comfortable.
In more severe cases, your doctor may have to give you steroid injections to relieve the symptoms. However, if even that does not work, you may have to undergo surgery.
Ideally, you should get surgery as soon as you discover that the condition does not respond to other treatments. According to the journal, if the ligament compresses the nerve for too long, the muscles in the wrist and hand atrophy and the median nerve becomes permanently damaged. Surgery for carpal tunnel is a quick and relatively painless experience that lasts for no more than 10 minutes. Recovery time is short, and unless you work in a job that requires manual labor, you should be able to resume normal work activities within a few days.
You should not use this article as legal advice. It is for educational purposes only.
