Carpal Tunnel

Syndrome
By Santiago Romero
What is carpal tunnel syndrome?
● It is when the median nerve which goes through the forearm into
the palm then becomes compressed or squeezed at the wrist
● This happens because tendons thicken form the irritation which
then lead to the tunnel getting tighter and causing pain.
● There are people that get numbness and pain in their hand and
they believe that they also have carpal tunnel but in fact it's
tendonitis. One way to easily tell its if it affects your pinky finger it
would be tendonitis.
Who is at risk of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome?
● Females are 3x more likely than males to get CTS
● People with diabetes
● People with nerve irregularities around the wrist which can also cause the pain
in the wrist
● There are new studies that also using your phone and computer leads to CTS
and are becoming common
● People that work in packaging sites, cleaning jobs are also at risk of getting
CTS
Signs and Symptoms of carpal tunnel Syndrome
● Symptoms start out small then gradually start to increase
● Frequent numbness or tingling in the fingers mainly the thumb, index and
middle finger.
● Pain usually begins in the dominant hand and you will also feel it intensely in
the dominant hand
● This can also lead to weakness when driving,holding your phone, reading just
trying to hold on to small item
● If this goes untreated it can deteriorate the muscles in the thumb and in severe
cases cause you to lose feeling in your thumb which can burn or freeze your
fingertips without even knowing.
Treatments and interventions
There is quite a list of diferent ways to treat CTS here are a few

● Laser therapy is used for CTS it is also one of the first methods approved by
the FDA. They switch by using both low and high intensity laser beams
Treatment Magnetic Therapy
● Magnetotherapy is used counteract the oxidative action then this stimulates
that oxidative process and tissue. This is of course all in low frequency
impulse. This is done with 10 procedures. You would not want to do this
procedure with someone who has a pace maker.
Treatment Ultra sound
● Ultrasound therapy is anti inflammatory and anti irritant action of ultrasound.
Application is on the carpal tunnel area using the low frequency for a deeper
effect. And the high frequency on for a surface affect. You would do this for
around 6 minutes and around 10-15 visits would be fine.
Spider push ups on a mirror
● Start with hands as if you were going to do a prayer
● Spread the fingers by separating palms of hands but keeping your fingers
together.
These are other Treatments for CTS Non Surgery
● Using a splint which should be used at night
● Make sure to take breaks and stretch the hand if the wrist is red and warm put
a cold pack on it
● Nonsteroidal anti inflammatory drugs such as aspirin, ibuprofen and other
nonprescription pain relievers.
● You can also do acupuncture and chiropractic care have benefited but it’s still
not been proven to completely work for CTS
Citations
● Zaralieva, A., Georgiev, G., Karabinov, V., Iliev, A. and Aleksiev, A., 2020. Physical Therapy And Rehabilitation Approaches In Patients With
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.
● O'SULLIVAN, S. B. AND SCHMITZ, T. J.
Physical rehabilitation: 5th. ed. - Book House
In-text: (O'Sullivan and Schmitz, 2007)
● Padua, L., Coraci, D., Erra, C., Pazzaglia, C., Paolasso, I., Loreti, C., Caliandro, P. and Hobson-Webb, L., 2020. Carpal Tunnel Syndrome:
Clinical Features, Diagnosis, And Management