"Our Hands and Quality In Life
With Carpal Tunnel Syndrome"
We sometimes take our hands for granted and fail to realize just how
important they are to everyday life and indeed, living our life. Hands
tell us who we are through our gestures and unique talents. If you think
about all they do, everyday, from tying our shoes to generating income,
it is staggering. Our hands also occupy a big place in our brains. The
nerve cells in the brain are devoted, to a large degree, to hand
function. It takes a lot of brainpower to play a guitar or piano, to
write an essay, or to caress a friend with a loving touch.
So when hand function is diminished, the loss can be devastating. Such
is the case with carpal tunnel syndrome. To anyone who suffers from this
disorder, the loss is obvious. When quality of life is studied in those
with carpal tunnel syndrome, there are many aspects that are affected.
Researchers (J Hand Surg Am 24(2):398) have learned that physical
functioning is greatly affected. A person may not be able to work or
engage in the hobbies they once loved. What's more, there is also
diminished mental quality of life, and reductions in vitality in these
patients.
Our clinic treats patients with carpal tunnel symptoms in a
comprehensive manner. We try to find the cause of the nerve compression.
Sometimes it's at the wrist and sometimes the neck is affected creating
radiating pain down into the hand. Sometimes both the wrist and neck
are affected (this is called double crush syndrome). In any case,
getting back on to the road of recovery begins with an accurate
diagnosis. Our treatments are specific to the cause of your problem. If
the problem has been long term, then you may need rehabilitative
exercises to restore the strength of your arm muscles and some patients
will require different stretching techniques to help loosen tight
muscles. If your neck is out of alignment or has poor posture, this may
also need to be corrected for full recovery to occur. Eating the proper
foods that do not add to wrist inflammation may also be a part of your
care plan.