Your hands are a delicate yet amazing network of muscles, bones, ligaments, and more. Though they may look delicate, they are pretty hardy. We use our hands almost our entire lives. Even as we grow older, our hands work well past their prime–we need them to help us navigate our world and manipulate objects when we want to.

Unfortunately, even if our hands can last years of use and withstand much of the abuse we throw at them, they are not invincible body parts. Bone fractures and other severe conditions affecting your hand might make it difficult (if not impossible) to do some of the things you want to do. If you have any hand issues interfering with your daily life, you should consult a hand doctor in Singapore.

A hand specialist or hand doctor knows how to treat specific hand problems that plague you. For example, bone fractures and arthritis are two common conditions that hand doctors can treat. They also treat muscle pains originating or affecting the hands. Because hands are essential to many fields and industries,  consulting a hand doctor for your condition can greatly benefit those who have recently suffered from injuries.

Is carpal tunnel syndrome serious?

Sometimes you do not need to go to a traumatic accident or injury for something wrong to happen to your hands. Your hands can accumulate damage over the years if you are not careful. A serious condition that may impair your motor skills and cause pain in your hands is called carpal tunnel syndrome.

Carpal tunnel syndrome may have a few similarities with other hand conditions that result from repeated and frequent movements. Evolution has not designed our hands to withstand frequent movements of our wrists, joints, fingers, and other hand parts. If carpal tunnel syndrome progresses, you may be unable to do things you love, like construction work, drawing, and writing. More seriously, it may even affect your work and productivity.

Any hand doctor in Singapore will tell you that you need to avoid repetitive and frequent movement with your hands to avoid this syndrome. When you have the condition, you will find even basic tasks painful to complete. You should look for various treatment options if you suspect you may have the syndrome.

More about carpal tunnel syndrome

Here is a brief look at carpal tunnel syndrome and how it affects your hands in negative ways. We call carpal tunnel syndrome ‘median nerve compression’ too. Carpal tunnel might not feel serious at first, but when you start to recognise a tingling sensation in your hands, or if your fingers and palms start to go numb, there is a good reason to believe you have carpal tunnel syndrome in Singapore.

The syndrome can cause pain (and eventually, weakness) in your hands. When the syndrome progresses, it can become quite painful or uncomfortable. Carpal tunnel syndrome is so-called because the condition involves a passageway in your arm. This passageway is called the carpal tunnel.

We also call it ‘median nerve compression’ because when you have this syndrome, the nerve that runs down the length of the arm and through the passageway is called the median nerve. The nerve can get pinched or you could apply too much pressure to it, causing damage. When this happens, the patient experiences the trademark numbness and pain of carpal tunnel syndrome.

What are some treatments you can get for carpal tunnel syndrome?

Some people might claim that there is no treatment for carpal tunnel and that you have irreversibly injured your hand. This could not be any further from the truth. You can find both surgical and nonsurgical treatments for carpal tunnel syndrome. Hand surgery in Singapore for carpal tunnel syndrome is reserved only for dire cases and urgent ones where the patient may need it because they need their fine motor skills back.

Contact a doctor if you suspect you may have carpal tunnel syndrome. Carpal tunnel syndrome may have nasty side effects if you do not have it treated as soon as you can. For example, people with carpal tunnel syndrome report having weak grips, tingling sensations that make it hard to concentrate, and numbness along the fingertips.

Are you considering treatments for your carpal tunnel? The sooner you get help, the easier it will be to treat carpal tunnel. Check out a few treatment options you need to explore.

1) Taking NSAIDS

NSAIDS (or Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) are a class of drugs that can relieve the pain of carpal tunnel syndrome. The bad news is that the effects that NSAIDS give patients only last for a short time. You should still contact a hand and wrist specialist in Singapore if you plan to look for long-term ways to treat carpal tunnel syndrome.

2) Using wrist splints

A splint is a type of orthopaedic tool that holds your wrist still during specific activities like sleeping. A common side effect of carpal tunnel syndrome is intense tingling at night. It prevents people from getting sound sleep. Even if you wear the wrist splint at night, it might improve your wrist condition in the daytime because you do not suffer from poor sleep quality because of the syndrome.

3) Undergoing surgical treatments

While many people learn to live with carpal tunnel and not let it interfere with daily life, some people have symptoms so severe that they need to treat their carpal tunnel syndrome right away. Surgical methods can help them avoid the worst parts of the condition. Someone considering surgical treatments has two techniques their doctor may recommend to them– endoscopic or open surgery. Both types of surgery are designed to free the median nerve from the pressures that the carpal tunnel can inflict on it.

Do not ignore the importance of medical services from a hand specialist in Singapore. Go to a hand and wrist specialist in Singapore to know more about the condition you may have.