Does My Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Require Surgery?

There are few parts of our body that we rely on more than our hands, which are critical for a wide variety of functions, like writing, typing, picking up objects, lifting, scratching, grabbing, and many others. Our fingers, palms, wrists, and other parts of the hand are beneficial, but also prone to possible injury from conditions like carpal tunnel syndrome.

This condition is the most common form of nerve entrapment neuropathy (pinched nerve) and accounts for about 90% of such neuropathies. It can be painful and hard to manage, but are there circumstances that may require surgery? Let’s explore this by examining carpal tunnel syndrome, its causes and symptoms, and the factors determining the best way to treat it.

If you live in Dunedin, Largo, Riverview, or St. Petersburg, Florida, and need relief from carpal tunnel syndrome, Drs. Stephen Steller, Ryan Garcia, Justin Murray, and the skilled medical team at Spinal Correction Centers can help.

Understanding carpal tunnel syndrome

 The carpal tunnel refers to a thin canal or tube in your wrists and includes the carpal bones, ligaments, median nerves, and tendons on the affected wrist. Increased pressure on this area, especially the median nerve, can result in numbness, tingling, and weakness in your wrists and fingers, causing the syndrome. While anyone can suffer from this common condition, it is more likely in people over 20 years old.

Causes and symptoms 

80% of carpal tunnel syndrome symptoms come from neck problems. We have a group of 5 nerves exiting the cervical spine called the brachial plexus and these 5 nerves run everything from our shoulder down to our fingertips. When the portion of the brachial plexus that feeds the median nerve becomes irritated it will cause carpal tunnel-like symptoms. Forward head posture (FHP) is the biggest culprit to cause this problem. We live in a head forward society. Looking at our computer screens all day, looking down at our phones, focusing on the road and traffic while driving all contribute to FHP which in turn will cause shoulder, arm and hand problems.

This increased pressure can cause many factors as a result, including wrist fracture or dislocation, chronic illnesses that damage the nerves, inflammatory infections, repetitive motions, and extreme wrist motions. Other conditions can contribute to this problem, such as thyroid issues, kidney failure, lymphedema, and menopause.

You may experience other symptoms in addition to numbness, weakness, and tingling, such as decreased feeling in your fingertips, difficulty performing basic tasks (grasping, holding objects, writing), and dropping items. You may also lose the ability to perform motor tasks, such as buttoning your shirt.

Best methods of treatment

Most often, this condition is managed by nonsurgical means, using devices such as wrist splints, medications to manage pain and inflammation, treatment of underlying conditions causing the syndrome, steroid injections, and avoiding positions that overextend your wrist. We offer chiropractic manipulation of the spine, wrist, and elbow to align the joints and reduce nerve irritation. 

Many times chiropractic adjustments to the cervical spine alleviate the carpal tunnel syndrome symptoms. We also will have our patients do cervical traction to correct the forward head posture and restore the curve in the neck which both help to get rid of the carpal tunnel problems as well. It is typically not the wrist causing the problem.

Surgical intervention is only necessary if the median nerve is severely damaged and no other methods are successful. Other factors may affect the success of surgery if it comes to that, such as underlying conditions that affect the nerves (like diabetes), how long you’ve been dealing with the problem, and age. The outcome of surgery is often successful regardless, but not necessary.

Carpal tunnel syndrome is a frustrating condition that affects a part of your body you use all the time, but despite what causes it, we can help. Make an appointment with Drs. Steller, Garcia, Murray, and Spinal Correction Centers today to get relief from the pain.