Patient Information

Carpal Tunnel?
Refers to the space formed in the wrist by bones and a ligament passing over them, through which the tendon s to the fingers pass. It also contains the median nerve, which controls the movement of the thumb and the feeling in your tumb; index and middle fingers Plus part of the ring finger.

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome?
Is compression or squeezing of the nerve as it passes throgh the carpal tunnel.

Who gets it?
It can affect all ages
More common in women than men

Cause?
There is no single cause
In Pregnancy it is due to fluid retention
Can follow bone deformity such as fractures or arthritis
It is also Associated with Diabetes and under active thyroid.
Often there is no obvious cause.

Treatment?
Mild Symptoms may go away by themselves, such as after pregnancy.
Occasionally your doctor may recomend a night splint to help rest the wrist, but this often has limited effect.
Steroid injections may be given into the carpal tunnel to help reduce inflamation.
Where symptoms persist, carpal tunnel release surgery is often recomended. Until recently, there was no alternative, fortunately C-Trac offers an alternative to surgery for many; who for what ever reason would prefer a non-surgical alternative.

Symptomes?

Pain, Aching, Tingling, Numbness.

Worse at night - Sleep may be affected.

As symptoms progress, the whole hand and fore arm can be affected.

If present for a long time, the muscles aroud the thumb can become wasted: the grip is weakened and objects may be dropped.

Nerve conduction tests can confirm if the problem is in the carpal tunnel, or from somewhere else such as the neck.