
Numbness, tingling, or even shooting pain in your fingers could mean they’re simply asleep, but persistent symptoms indicate a condition called carpal tunnel syndrome. The team at Genesis Orthopaedic and Spine in Westfield and West Orange, New Jersey, and serving serving all of Union county, Morris county, Middlesex county, and Somerset county including the surrounding towns of Cranford, Garwood, Clark, Scotch Plains, Mountainside, Springfield, Summit, Chatham, Millburn, Short Hills, Maplewood, Watchung, Berkeley Heights, Livingston, Union, Edison, Woodbridge, and Elizabeth. Frequently diagnoses cases of carpal tunnel syndrome and provides cortisone injections and nighttime braces to relieve your discomfort. If you suspect that overuse or an injury to your wrist led to carpal tunnel syndrome, call Genesis Orthopaedic and Spine or request an appointment online today.
For appointments, call us or book online at any of our convenient locations in Middletown, Morristown, Ridgewood, Westfield, and West Orange.
What is carpal tunnel?
The carpal tunnel is a part of your wrists’ anatomy. It’s a passageway made up of the tiny bones within your wrists that encases and protects the nerves and ligaments that lead to your hand.
One of these nerves is called the median nerve. It runs down your arm, passes through the carpal tunnel, and branches out into many nerves in your hand that control the feelings in your fingers and some of your thumbs’ movement.
What is carpal tunnel syndrome?
Carpal tunnel syndrome, often shortened to ‘carpal tunnel,’ is a condition that occurs when your carpal tunnel narrows and compresses your median nerve in one or both of your wrists. This happens when the tissues and ligaments throughout your wrist swell, often because of overuse, injuries, arthritis, or repetitive wrist movements over time. In fact, carpal tunnel syndrome is a common work-related injury that causes many employees to seek workers’ compensation.
Carpal tunnel syndrome worsens with time if you don’t seek treatment. Since you can damage the median nerve beyond repair, you should seek carpal tunnel syndrome treatment if you have symptoms that don’t go away and begin to interfere with your work, activities, or sleep.
How does carpal tunnel syndrome feel?
Carpal tunnel syndrome results in several hallmark signs and symptoms, including:
- Numbness or tingling in your thumb and fingers
- Burning or pain in your thumb and fingers
- Hand and wrist weakness
- Shock sensations radiating to the tips of your fingers
These symptoms usually appear slowly over time and begin in your thumb before reaching your fingers.
What treatments for carpal tunnel syndrome are available?
Genesis Orthopaedic and Spine offers several treatment possibilities for your carpal tunnel syndrome to maintain or restore your comfort and mobility. They may recommend:
Bracing
Your provider may recommend that you wear a specialized brace or splint around your affected wrist as you sleep. This prevents you from flexing or extending it to cause further damage and worsening symptoms.
Cortisone injections
Cortisone injections, a type of steroid, are often recommended for carpal tunnel pain that has been present for one year or less. Your provider uses ultrasound imaging to guide a needle into your carpal tunnel and inject the drug, which relieves inflammation and the pressure from around your median nerve.
If you’re feeling unusual sensations in your hands, call Genesis Orthopaedic and Spine or book your appointment for carpal tunnel evaluation online today.