Sunday, September 13, 2009

How can you Relieve CT Symptoms?

By Tom Nicholson

Dealing with Carpal tunnel syndrome day after day, month after month can get very tiresome. When it is painful to do all the things you ordinarily do, it can be downright depressing. It becomes difficult to concentrate when you work on the computer because the pain is nagging and relentless. Changing positions every few minutes seems to be the only relief and that becomes distracting. You wish your hands and wrists would just stop hurting.

After all, don't we use our hands every day for extremely important things? When you think about it, our hands are a major part of our existence. They do everything for us yet we can't seem to find the time to take very good care of them. Sure, our hands are rugged little things, but they can only take so much before crisis sets in. And that crisis comes in the form of carpal tunnel syndrome.

You can begin to ease the discomfort of carpal tunnel syndrome by first understanding what it is. The median nerve in the wrist becomes compressed when the transverse carpal ligament is strained and tightens. This happens from repetitive motion involving this ligament and nerve. The carpal ligament provides strength in the hand and gives it the ability to lift. As this nerve becomes compressed it develops into the painful condition of carpal tunnel syndrome and affects everything we do that involves the use of our hands and wrists.

The symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome range from hand and wrist pain to a pain that radiates all the way up the forearm to the elbow. If you have experience even the slightest bit of carpal tunnel pain you will know what it feels like. Occasionally there is numbness in the hands and fingers. When it becomes particularly bad, the individual loses the use of the hand. When a person first starts to experience the discomfort of carpal tunnel it is common for them to shift about to relieve the pain. Sometimes this causes other problems, such as neck and back pain, or leg or shoulder pain and eve headaches.

If you have experienced any of these symptoms you might want to consider that it is a warning sign of a more serious problem to come if left untreated. There are several solutions to the problem and understanding your options will help you decide what the best solution is for you. Most people think of surgery as their only option. While it is an option it is not the only option. When carpal tunnel surgery is performed, the surgeon cuts the transverse carpal ligament and eases the pressure in the wrist. It may not cure the problem and sometimes there are complications.

You should focus on exercises and stretches to help relieve the symptoms of carpal tunnel. Simply standing up every so often and bending your entire body can feel great as well as loosening up your arms and neck. Stretching your wrists backward and forward to keep the transverse carpal ligament from tightening is also a key in keeping those wrists from developing problems in the future. Get into a healthy, productive rhythm and you won't have to suffer carpal tunnel symptoms. This breaks that repetitive motion of the day and allows your body to "change it up a little bit".

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