Carpal Tunnel Surgery May Not Be For You

You’ve heard the condition of carpal tunnel syndrome before, but you never thought you’d have it. Years of bad posture, stress, and too much time at the computer keyboard have left you with pain in your wrists, weakness and numbness. You have read up on the subject and are torn about whether or not you should have surgery for your condition. Perhaps even your doctor has recommended it!

Before you decide on having the surgery, think about the other possible options you have to avoid it, such as alternative treatments. They can help to reduce some of your pain and allow you to forgo the surgery for some time. There are times when surgery is the best way to go, but because it is expensive and offers only short term benefits, consider other options first.

Take the time to truly learn about and understand carpal tunnel syndrome and what causes it to occur. Most cases are found in the wrists. It is generally caused by repetitive action, or the movement in the same way over and over again. It can happen to baseball players pitching too much or it can happen to anyone doing any job that involves this movement over and over again. This motion repeats so often that the transverse carpal ligament tightens up. The ligament is crucial because it holds in place all of the ligaments in the wrist.Over time, it grows worse. The ligament will tighten up, as described, and that places a good amount of pressure on the median nerve in this region. It inflames and becomes painful. This may be presented as a tingling or even a numbness.

The process only worsens. This ligament tightens put which leads to added pressure on the median nerve, which then is inflamed and painful. Often, this leads to a tingling, numbness in the region. Your wrists and hands may feel weak and many times, there is pain running through the wrist, into the hand and fingers and even straight up the arm, right along the nerve pathways. The more you do this action, the more pain you are in and ultimately the more difficult it is to perform the action.

While the surgical procedure designed to relieve carpal tunnel syndrome is not difficult it is invasive. The relief comes from the severing of the transverse carpal ligament. While this is not a problem, initially, over time it leads to weakness in the arms and later the hands. It does relieve the pain of carpal tunnel syndrome rather quickly though.

It will take about six weeks for the individual to recover from having the surgery, with therapy. There are risks involved and the benefit of the surgical procedure is not known until after the healing process has completed. Because of all of this strain, many people do look for alternative remedies and treatments before going through with the surgical procedure.

Through stretching and exercise, you can essentially lessen or completely mitigate the effects of carpal tunnel. By stretching the transverse carpal ligament, you can ensure that the median nerve will have no lingering exposure to pressure. Good posture and taking a few breaks from the repetitive tasks can also be a big help. Besides that, surgery can cost upwards of $10,000, and who has that kind of money when you can do stretches for free?

Sometimes, these alternative options may not be enough to avoid surgery for carpal tunnel syndrome. Get a second opinion first. Be sure you are doing everything you can to avoid the surgery even working with a physical therapist.

Filed under: Health

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