I think most of us at least have heard of this and a lot of us have had it. The Median Nerve passes through a tunnel (under a ligament) in your wrist and can get compressed. This causes pain and numbness in your thumb and adjacent two fingers and about half of the next (ring) finger. Your Doctor can help you with this and I highly recommend you consult him/her. Repetitive wrist motion can cause this, such as constant use of your computer. A wrist splint can help. Icing and rest of this area can also help. Ice the area for twenty minutes, four times a day. You might wonder why this is worse during the night or when you wake up. The answer to that is that when you are asleep, you are not moving your wrist as much as you normally do during the day. Also, you tend to flex (bend or curl) your hands during the night. When you are not moving your hands, fluid tends to build up in your wrist and hands and this makes the compression of the nerve worse. When you curl your hands, this also makes the compression worse. A wrist splint can help both problems. The compression of your whole wrist/hand via the splint tends to prevent the swelling, as well as, the splint keeps you from “curling” up your hand. This is worth trying. But, again follow your doctor’s orders. Pregnant women frequently complain of this as they gain weight only to have it completely resolve post childbirth. Conservative management is usually very effective in this case. In cases where the signs and symptoms linger on and on despite your best efforts, your doctor may refer you to an Orthopedic Hand Specialist. This doctor may examine you and then order an electrodiagnostic study (frequently referred to as an EMG). This is not a particularly fun test to have as electric shocks are used in the nerve conduction studies, and needles are used in the electromyograms. You may only need the nerve conduction part but frequently both test will be done at the same appointment. Many Orthopedic Surgeons will not do the Carpal Tunnel Release surgery without looking at the results from the EMG. Do your homework and find the very best and most experienced hand surgeon around. I did that. The surgical release was a breeze and the relief was so soon after surgery that I highly recommend it. So, if carpal tunnel syndrome is determined to be the cause of your pain and numbness, do not hesitate to follow up on this even if the surgery is needed.
I hope this has helped someone out there and if so, I would love to hear from you.
