No task in our day-to-day life can be done without needing our hands – and, of course, wrists. Everyday activities sometimes can cause pain in the hand and wrist, but this pain resulting from overuse of hands for everyday activities should subside with rest.
However, if your wrist and hand pain is not improving and is accompanied by other symptoms, it could be due to an underlying hand condition such as carpal tunnel syndrome.
Let’s talk about what carpal tunnel syndrome is, how you can identify if your hand pain is carpal tunnel syndrome, and where you can go for the treatment of carpal tunnel syndrome in North Dakota.
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome: What Is It?
As evident from its name, carpal tunnel syndrome is when there is a problem with your carpal tunnel – a narrow tube or canal in the wrist just like a tunnel you could travel through by car.
The carpal tunnel is formed by carpal bones that make up the side and bottom of the tunnel and the ligament that forms the top of the tunnel. The tunnel travels the tendon and median nerve connecting the hand and forearm.
Carpal tunnel syndrome happens when there is excessive pressure within the wrist on the median nerve due to the narrowing of the carpal tunnel.
How to Identify if You Have Carpal Tunnel Syndrome?
Besides pain in the hand and wrist, carpal tunnel syndrome also results in many symptoms which can help you identify it.
The following are some symptoms you should look out for if you have pain in your hand and wrist.
- Tingling, burning, numbness, and pain in hands, primarily in the index, middle, ring finger, and thumb. These sensations are sometimes so severe that they can wake you up at night.
- Pain, pins, and needle sensations radiate up to the forearm and shoulder.
- Infrequent shock-like sensations travel to the index, middle, ring finger, and thumb.
- Clumsiness and weakness in the hand make it very hard for you to perform fine movements, such as buttoning your clothes and picking small objects
- Feeling as if your hand is in space due to the loss of proprioception (awareness of the body in space)
- Dropping things due to numbness and weakness in my hand
The aforementioned symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome may begin gradually, without any obvious injury to the hands. Initially, these symptoms come and go, but as the condition worsens, symptoms occur more frequently or may persist for longer periods.
Symptoms commonly occur during nighttime, mostly because many people sleep with their wrists bent. During the day, symptoms often occur when you hold an object for an extended time period with your wrists bent, such as when driving, reading a book, or using a phone.
Hand Pain Treatment in North Dakota
If you or someone you know is having the aforementioned symptoms and are seeking a lasting solution, look no further. With years of experience in diagnosing and treating a broad range of orthopedic conditions, our board-certified hand doctors at The Bone & Joint Center are North Dakota’s most trusted orthopedists.
Our orthopedic surgeons use advanced approaches and techniques to treat your orthopedic issue, including hand and wrist conditions.
If you would like to make an appointment with our hand doctors today, call us at (866) 900-8650 or use our online request form.
