Signs Your Shoulder Pain Needs Help
Shoulder pain isn’t uncommon, but how do you know when to see your doctor? Here’s what you need to know.
You might’ve heard that carpal tunnel syndrome is caused by too much typing and texting. But is that true? To understand what causes it — you need to know more about it.
Our professional teams at Crescent City Orthopedics in Metairie, Chalmette, and Covington, Louisiana, have the expertise to uncover the root cause of your carpal tunnel syndrome and provide effective treatment.
Carpal tunnel syndrome occurs when your median nerve gets pinched — affecting the function of your forearms, wrists, and hands. Surprisingly, repetitive use of your fingers for typing and texting aren’t necessarily the culprit. There are many other factors that can cause the overuse of your hands and wrists that result in this condition.
Your carpal tunnel is on the palm side of your hand. When you have constant, repetitive use of your hands and wrists, this action can pressure your median nerve that provides sensation to your thumb and fingers (but not your little finger on the end). When the nerve gets squeezed or compressed in your carpal tunnel space, it can lead to carpal tunnel syndrome.
In some cases, a single cause for this condition can’t be pinpointed. However, if you develop carpal tunnel syndrome, what you do for a living could be causing it.
In addition to certain factors playing a role in developing carpal tunnel syndrome - like genetics, pregnancy that causes fluid retention, and certain health conditions (arthritis and diabetes), your occupation can also put you at risk if it requires your hands and wrists to stay highly active.
Here’s a list of industries that can aggravate carpal tunnel syndrome:
If your profession might be causing your symptoms, we can help.
One of the first symptoms you might notice is the sensation of your hand falling asleep. This numbness can travel up your arm.
Other symptoms to watch out for include:
If you start to suffer from any of these, we realize it’s probably not realistic for you to quit your profession to stop the damage. That’s why we provide treatments that can give you the relief you need.
We have nonsurgical options, such as hand braces, medications, steroid injections, and exercises for you to do regularly. If your symptoms continue after these treatment methods, we can perform surgery to reduce your pain significantly.
To learn more about how you can prevent carpal tunnel syndrome and treat it as needed, reach out to the location nearest you for an appointment. Call our friendly office staff or book your appointment online today.
