Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

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Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

Abstract

The wrist is surrounded by a band of fibrous tissue, which normally

functions as a support for the joint. The tight space between this

fibrous band and the wrist bone is called the carpal tunnel (The Stay

Well Company, 1999). The median nerve passes through the carpal tunnel

to receive sensations from the thumb, index, and middle fingers of the

hand. Any condition that causes swelling or a change in position of

the tissue within the carpal tunnel can squeeze and irritate the

median nerve, which causes tingling and numbness of the thumb, index,

and the middle fingers, a condition known as "carpal tunnel syndrome"

(Nidus Information Systems, 2001). All people can be affected by CTS,

but it is most common among women between the ages of 29 and 62.

Though medical awareness of CTS as a widespread and treatable

condition is only a recent phenomenon, current treatments are mostly

effective in relieving symptoms (The Hand Center, 2004). In this

essay, one will find detail about the causes of CTS.

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome –4-

Problem Statement

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is an inflammatory disease of the median nerve

in the carpal tunnel. If left untreated it can result in serious nerve

damage.

Carpal tunnel syndrome is related to many repetitive type movements

that cause a pinching in the median nerve of the wrist. Doctors have

introduced surgery that releases the tension on this nerve with an

endoscopic procedure that was introduced fifty years after carpal

tunnel was introduced. The basic anatomy of the wrist is analyzed to

help gain a better understanding of where this disease is taking

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