Wrist Pain
The wrist has a mixed anatomical structure. The muscle-nerve-vessel complex, which provides finger and hand movements, passes through here and disperses. The median nerve, which provides the movement and sensation of the thumb and forefinger, passes through the middle of the inner surface of the wrist and divides into branches in the hand. This nerve is covered by a thick protective tandon at the wrist and partially in the palm. This tandon thickens due to various reasons towards middle age and causes compression of the nerve it protects under it.
One of the most common causes of wrist pain is Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. The most common cause of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is tandon thickening due to overuse. Especially in jobs where finger and wrist movements are continuous; It is more common in computer users, knitters, housewives who do intense housework, and auto mechanics.
Among the risk factors of this disease: Obesity, Diabetes, Hypothyroidism and rheumatological joint diseases can be mentioned.
What are the complaints that occur in Carpal Tunnel Syndrome?
– Pain that occurs in the wrists and hands and gradually gets worse over time. The discomfort can sometimes be so severe that it awakens from sleep and may spread to the arm and shoulder.
– Numbness or electric shock sensation in the hands and fingers. The numbness may be felt more intensely in the thumb, index and middle fingers.
– Loss of strength in the hand, difficulty holding the item, and dropping the items being held.
– Feeling relief in pain by shaking the hand.
How is it diagnosed?
Diagnosis is made by detailed history of complaints and investigating other causes that may lead to this condition. Some of the patients diagnosed with neck hernia and calcification also have wrist canal disease and this is called double stenosis. Both the spinal cord and nerve root in the neck are compressed, and there is wrist canal stenosis.
Neck MRI and ENMG (nerve electrode) examinations are performed to confirm the diagnosis.
Treatment of Hand-Wrist Canal Disease
Initially,
Preventing excessive use, avoiding work that will cause excessive strain on the wrist
Painkillers and anti-inflammatory drugs
· Wrist exercises
· Wrist splints, night splints
· Local or systemic cortisone injections are sufficient for most people.
However, over time, the complaints begin again and the permanent solution is to release the nerve with a simple surgical intervention. Under local or general anesthesia, with a 1-2 cm incision made from the wrist to the palm using a microscope, the band on the nerve is cut and the compression of the nerve is removed. This method causes lasting relief. After 3-5 days of wrist rest after the operation, the patient returns to his normal life.
Suggestions:
· When using a typewriter and computer, rest your hands from time to time.
· Be careful when doing housework puts a lot of effort on the wrist.
· Do not sleep on your wrist at night.
· If you wake up with numbness in your hands, especially at night, if your sleep is interrupted, it means that wrist canal disease begins.
Note: Surgical intervention in carpal tunnel syndrome is performed in the last stages of the disease, that is, if there is insufficient benefit from noninvasive methods. When benefiting from various treatment methods offered by complementary medicine, long-term recovery is achieved and the success rate is 80-90%. These treatment methods are preferred over surgeries around the world because they are reparative, non-invasive and most importantly uncomplicated.
