A Handy Guide to Carpal Tunnel


If the pain and numbness in your hand has you reaching for painkillers in the middle of the night, carpal tunnel syndrome could be the culprit.

“Carpal tunnel syndrome – a condition that occurs when a nerve in the wrist gets compressed – can be much more debilitating than many people realize,” says Rickey L. Lents, MD, orthopedic surgeon at Saint Francis Medical Center. “It typically leads to numbness, tingling and pain. Additionally, many patients report a pain so great that it wakes them up during the night.”

Lents_RickeyIf left untreated, the numbness, tingling and pain can worsen or become permanent. Also, the muscles in the hand can atrophy. If you have these symptoms, see your physician. Treatments include splints, steroid injections and surgery.
