Steemit Learning Challenge-S22W1; Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

I welcome you all to my blog. This theme was taught by @ashkhan, and I will try to do justice to the questions that follow. Let's get started...

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What's carpal tunnel syndrome? Write in your own words after getting knowledge from the lesson post.

First, let's get to know what Carpal Tunnel is: This is a tube-like, narrow structure found in the wrist that contains the median nerve, a nerve running from the forearm to the inside of the hand providing motor function and sensation to the index, mi, middle, and thumb fingers and half of the ring finger. The carpal tunnel also contains nine tendons linking the forearm muscles to the hand bones, allowing the fingers to move. It also contains ligaments, tissues that join bone to bone, providing the wrist with stability.

The median nerves are compressed or pressurized when the wrist moves. Hence, carpal tunnel syndrome, also known as CTS, is a medical condition that takes place when the median nerve running into the hand from the forearm through the carpal tunnel (the tube-like, narrow passageway) is pinched or compressed.

Numbness and tingling in the index, thumb, as well as middle fingers, appear to be the initial symptom. Pain in the hand, wrist, and fingers, mostly at night or after activities involving bending the wrist or gripping, can also be felt. There are also weaknesses in the fingers that make gripping or grasping activities difficult and shock-like sensations when the wrist is bent or extended

Causes of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

1. Retention of Fluid:
   The buildup of fluids in the wrist, usually as a result of pregnancy, menopause, or some other medical conditions
2. Recurrent motion:
   Engaging in tasks that have to do with recurring wrist motion like typing, playing musical instruments, or assembly line work
3. Trauma:
   Injury to the wrist or hand can result in swelling or pressurize on the median nerve.
4. Wrist anatomy:
   Carpal tunnel syndrome can occur due to small carpel tunnel or disparate anatomical that can expose the median nerves to pressure.

Other causes of carpal tunnel syndrome may include underlying medical conditions like diabetes, obesity, etc.

Types of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

1. Chronic Carpal Tunnel Syndrome:
   This is caused by recurrent strain or accumulated trauma to the wrist in addition to the wrong usage of the arm. Symptoms of this CTS gradually develop over time and may call for ongoing injury management and treatment
2. Secondary Carpal Tunnel Syndrome:
   This type of CTS results from underlying medical conditions like gout, thyroid disorders, amyloidosis, diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, etc.
3. Acute Carpal Tunnel Syndrome:
   This is another kind of CTS, it results from spontaneous injury or trauma to the wrist. Symptoms of acute CTS emerge rapidly and usually persist within hours or days and usually resolve with rest and treatment
4. Primary or Idiopathic Carpal Tunnel Syndrome:
   There are no identifiable or underlying medical conditions that result in this type of CTS moreover it accounts for roughly 59% of all cases of carpal tunnel syndrome

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How would you diagnose a carpal tunnel syndrome? Any clinical investigation or assessment tests?

Historical Diagnosis:

This, I presume, should be the initial diagnosis, which involves a thorough medical history as well as a physical evaluation. In doing this, basic symptoms like tingling, numbness, or pain in the wrist or hand should identified.

We will need to gather information regarding the onset, duration as well as seriousness of the symptoms in addition to factors that relieve or exacerbate symptoms. It is also important to find pre-existing medical conditions such as thyroid disorder, diabetes or rheumatoid arthritis also previous surgeries or injuries on the arm, hand, or wrist.

We can also examine the characteristics of the symptoms, such as location, quality, severity, and duration, to ascertain whether it is constant, intermittent, or episodic, as well as when symptoms are more active.

Physical Examination

This beneficial diagnosis for handling CTS. Wrist and nerve palpation, range of motion involving wrist flexion, rotation, and extension. Motor examination involving thenar muscle strength, finger flexion, and extension are all available and beneficial for this purpose.

Medical Diagnosis

This is one of the most reliable ways of diagnosing CTS. Ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) are there to help us examine the median nerve as well as the surrounding tissues to ascertain signs of inflammation, compression, or other conditions. We can also employ nerve conduction Studies (NCS) electromyography (EMG) to help ascertain the strength, velocity of electrical signals, and muscle electrical activity in the median nerve as well as the nerve function.

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Try to practice at least 3 exercises that you have learned from the lesson. Share images, gifs, or videos while practicing, preferably gifs or videos.

Arm Prayer Stretch

While performing this exercise, I was cautious not to bend or twist my wrist. This exercise is aimed to minimize pressure on the median nerve; hence, I was also careful to apply mild pressure to stretch the flexor muscles of the wrist and also avoided stretching beyond my comfortable motion range.

https://youtube.com/shorts/-dege881j2Y?si=6IQusi4Ij_uXF0wt

Wrist Rotation

This exercise helps improve and maintain flexibility as well as wrist range of motion, mitigating discomfort and stiffness. In performing this exercise, I tried as much as I could to make the rotation gentle in smooth movements and avoid rotating beyond the range of comfortability.

https://youtube.com/shorts/jU7eIWgcTWo?si=NzV4bymjPnkd-4Me

Stretches for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

This exercise helps to prevent muscle imbalance, lower pressure on the median nerve as well as alleviate symptoms. Care has to be taken while performing this exercise to avoid exacerbating symptoms.

https://youtube.com/shorts/nvwuln-iPy8?si=0yf3bewfzkFUVj_t

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Share your review after performing these exercises either on yourself, healthy individual or patient.

These exercises are recommendable for healthy persons as well as those with CTS. Wrist flexibility, reduced pressure, discomfort, and stiffness, as well as impeded scare tissues capable of worsening CTS symptoms, are benefits of these exercises to healthy people, which people having CTS can equally benefit from.

I was cautious during the exercises; hence, I didn't encounter any form of negativity; there wasn't an overstretch, rough, or carefree rotation, and I didn't go beyond my comfort range. This helped me achieve the positive result of relaxation and flexibility of the wrist, reduced stiffness as well as pressure.

Thanks

I am inviting @entity01, @vickyson, and @triple-a