Carpal Tunnel Syndrome in Vacaville

Carpal tunnel syndrome in Vacaville is a condition that causes weakness, numbness, or tingling feeling in your hand.

This condition happens when there's pressure on your median nerve. It can run through the length of your arm, goes through your wrist passage called the carpal tunnel, and stops at your hand. The median is responsible for the feeling and movement of your thumb and fingers except for the pinky.

Carpal tunnel syndrome symptoms in Vacaville

This condition comes with a variety of symptoms including:

• Weakness in your hand and difficulty in holding things
• Burning, itching, or tingling in your palm and thumb or your middle and index fingers
• Tingling that goes up into your arm
• Shock-like feeling that can be felt on the fingers

It can be noticeable when you start feeling that your fingers "fall asleep" and becomes numb during nighttime. This happens depending on how you hold your hand while sleeping.

When you wake up, your hands feel numb and tingly, which could run all the way to your shoulder. During the day, symptoms can flare up especially when you're holding something with your wrist bent like when you're reading a book.

At an early stage, you can make the sensation go away just by shaking your hands. But as it progresses, doing this won't make it better.

As your carpal tunnel syndrome worsens, you start losing your grip strength because the muscles in your hands start to shrink. There will also be more pain and your muscles will start cramping.

Your median nerve is unable to function properly due to the pressure and irritation that it experiences. This can lead to the following:

• Less feeling in your fingers
• Slower nerve impulses
• Less coordination and strength, especially on using your thumb to pinch

Carpal tunnel syndrome causes

Some people have no idea what causes their carpal tunnel syndrome in the first place. But it can be due to the following:

• Pregnancy
• Repetitive motions
• Conditions like diabetes, hypothyroidism, obesity, and rheumatoid arthritis

Carpal tunnel syndrome risk factors

Your chances of getting carpal tunnel syndrome is increased when you:

• Have a family member or relative with small carpal tunnels.
• Are a woman since they are more likely to get it than men.
• Fractured or dislocated your wrist.
• Are working in a job that requires repetitive motions on your arm, hand, or wrist.

Carpal tunnel syndrome diagnosis and tests

Your doctor will do a test called Tinel sign wherein they will tap the palm side of your wrist or flex your wrist with your arms fully extended. There are also other tests that will be conducted such as:

• Imaging test: Ultrasounds, x-rays, or MRI exams will allow the doctor to take a closer look at your bones and tissues.
• Electromyogram: A thin electrode will be placed on your muscle to measure its electrical activity.
• Nerve conduction studies: An electrode will be taped to your skin to measure the signals that travels through the nerves of your arm and hand.

Carpal tunnel syndrome complications

Carpal tunnel syndrome can be easily avoided by doing the following:

• Keep your hands warm.
• Take frequent breaks.
• Keep your wrists straight.
• Avoid repetitive flexing and extending on your wrists.
• Use a brace or splint to maintain a neutral position on your wrists.
• Put your wrists and hands in the correct position while working.