Tingling, numbness, and pain in the hands are common during pregnancy, especially in the last trimester. These problems are usually caused by carpal tunnel syndrome. They usually go away after pregnancy.
Carpal tunnel syndrome is caused by pressure on the median nerve in your wrist. This nerve runs through a small space in your wrist called the carpal tunnel. This nerve controls feeling in your thumb and first three fingers. When there is pressure on this nerve, your grip can be weak and your hand can be clumsy. The nerve doesn't control feeling in your little finger.
Anything that reduces the amount of space in the carpal tunnel can lead to carpal tunnel syndrome. So can anything that makes the median nerve more sensitive.
The swelling that is common in pregnancy can lead to carpal tunnel syndrome. You may be more likely to get carpal tunnel syndrome during pregnancy if you:
Carpal tunnel syndrome is numbness, tingling, weakness, and pain in your hand, wrist, and sometimes forearm. It is caused by pressure on the median nerve. This nerve runs through a space in the wrist called the carpal tunnel. You may be more likely to get the syndrome if you overuse your hand or wrist. You may also be more likely to get it if you are pregnant or have a problem like an underactive thyroid or diabetes.
Many people get better if they rest their wrist and wear a splint. Some people need surgery.
The symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome usually develop gradually. Symptoms often improve if you stop or change an activity that is helping to cause the condition.
Most mild cases of carpal tunnel syndrome get better with treatment. Usually there is no permanent damage to the median nerve. Your symptoms may improve by themselves when:
Long-term carpal tunnel syndrome can cause:
Mild carpal tunnel symptoms most often affect the hand and sometimes the forearm, but they can spread up to the shoulder. Symptoms include:
With moderate or severe carpal tunnel symptoms, you may have numbness or reduced strength and grip in your fingers, thumb, or hand. It may be hard to:
Symptoms most often occur in parts of the hand supplied by the median nerve. These are the thumb, the index finger, the middle finger, and half of the ring finger. The median nerve doesn't affect your little finger. So if your little finger is affected, you may not have carpal tunnel syndrome.
Symptoms often occur in both hands, but they are usually worse in one hand than the other. You may first notice symptoms at night. People with carpal tunnel syndrome can usually fall asleep, but pain or numbness may wake them up.
Not all pain in the wrist or hand is caused by carpal tunnel syndrome. There are many other conditions with similar symptoms, such as:
You can treat mild symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome with home care. This includes wearing a wrist splint, icing your wrist, and avoiding activities that cause the problem. Corticosteroids taken by mouth or by injection are a treatment option. Surgery may be needed when you have severe symptoms and when other treatments haven't helped.
A wrist splint is a brace that looks like a fingerless glove. It stabilizes your wrist in a straight and sometimes slightly bent-back position. Wearing a wrist splint minimizes pressure on the median nerve and allows you a period of "relative rest" from movements that make carpal tunnel syndrome worse.
Think about these guidelines when you use a wrist splint:
Splints are available in drugstores without a prescription. They are also available by prescription from orthopedic and medical supply stores. Physical and occupational therapists can make custom-fit splints from lightweight materials that may be more comfortable to wear.
To help prevent carpal tunnel syndrome:
To diagnose this syndrome, your doctor will ask about health problems that could cause the condition. The doctor will ask about your routine and any recent activities that could have hurt your wrist, arm, or neck. You will get a physical exam, including comparing the strength of both hands. You may need nerve tests.
Medicine may relieve swelling, inflammation, and pain in the wrist or hand caused by carpal tunnel syndrome. Reducing swelling in the wrist will relieve pressure on the median nerve in the carpal tunnel. This helps relieve your symptoms.
Medicine choices include:
Medicine should be used with other treatments (such as ice, rest, and splints) to reduce pain and inflammation.
Stop or reduce the activity causing your symptoms. Take breaks often. Try using a wrist splint at night to keep your wrist straight. Or put ice or a cold pack on your wrist for 10 to 20 minutes at a time. If your doctor prescribes medicine for pain and swelling, take it exactly as prescribed.
Surgery may be an option when other treatment hasn't helped, if you've had carpal tunnel syndrome for a long time, or if there's nerve damage or the risk of nerve damage.
The most common surgery for relieving carpal tunnel symptoms involves cutting the transverse carpal ligament. This helps relieve pressure on the median nerve in the wrist. Two approaches for this surgery may be used. They are:
Some surgeons are now doing small- or mini-open release surgery. This requires a smaller incision than standard open release surgery. It may reduce healing time and scarring. It also allows the surgeon to view the ligament directly during the surgery. This helps to minimize danger to the nerve.
Your decision about whether to use open or endoscopic surgery may depend on your doctor's experience with the procedures. Endoscopic carpal tunnel surgery uses special equipment. It's most successful when the doctor has done the procedure many times.
Things that put you at risk for carpal tunnel syndrome include:
The carpal tunnel is a narrow space in the wrist. It contains wrist bones and a ligament (transverse carpal ligament) across the wrist where the palm and forearm meet. Tendons and the median nerve pass through this space to your hand. The median nerve supplies feeling and some movement to part of the hand.
Carpal tunnel syndrome is usually caused when a health condition or problem makes the carpal tunnel space too small. This puts pressure on the median nerve and causes pain, tingling, and other symptoms.
Carpal tunnel syndrome is numbness, tingling, weakness, pain, and other problems in your hand that are caused by pressure on the median nerve in your wrist.
The median nerve and several tendons run from your forearm to your hand. They pass through a small space in your wrist called the carpal tunnel. The median nerve controls movement and feeling in your thumb and first three fingers. It doesn't control movement of your little finger.
Watch closely for changes in your health, and be sure to contact your doctor if:
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