Getting a Grip on Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

Do you ever find your­self wak­ing up in the mid­dle of the night with numb­ness and tin­gling in your hand? Or maybe you expe­ri­ence a sharp pain in your wrist when you use your com­put­er mouse for an extend­ed time peri­od? If so, you may be suf­fer­ing from carpal tun­nel syn­drome — a com­mon con­di­tion that affects mil­lions of peo­ple worldwide.

Carpal tun­nel syn­drome is a com­mon con­di­tion that caus­es numb­ness, tin­gling, and pain in the hand and fore­arm. The con­di­tion occurs when one of the major nerves to the hand — the medi­an nerve — is squeezed or com­pressed as it trav­els through the wrist.

Man­age­ment and treat­ment of the con­di­tion is pro­vid­ed by a few teams here at Quin­cy Med­ical Group (QMG), includ­ing our Neu­rol­o­gy team. It is impor­tant to diag­nose and treat carpal tun­nel syn­drome prompt­ly. QMG Neu­rol­o­gist Dr. Daniel Kim­ple said a vis­it with him or one of his col­leagues, Dr. Dou­glas Sul­li­vant or Dr. Austin Hake, is a good start­ing point.

“For patients, the Neu­rol­o­gy depart­ment should be an ear­ly stop in the process to have sim­ple nerve tests com­plet­ed to con­firm the prob­lem loca­tion and sever­i­ty, and to exclude oth­er caus­es,” Dr. Kim­ple said.

Many fac­tors con­tribute to the devel­op­ment of carpal tun­nel syn­drome, includ­ing patients with a his­to­ry of arthri­tis, ele­vat­ed body mass index (BMI), thy­roid dis­ease, preg­nan­cy, as well as work- and sleep-relat­ed triggers.

Symp­toms can dis­rupt your day-to-day life. Dr. Kim­ple said those suf­fer­ing with the con­di­tion may expe­ri­ence aching dis­com­fort in the thumb base, hand, or fore­arm; tin­gling in hands; weak­ness of grip; or hands falling asleep while dri­ving or sleeping.

If you think you may have carpal tun­nel syn­drome, speak to your pri­ma­ry care provider or reach out to the QMG Neu­rol­o­gy team by call­ing (217) 222‑6550, ext. 3434.