Carpal Tunnel syndrome

shedhead

Hi all,

I / my GP suspect i have CTS, which is now waking me up at night wuth numb throbbing hand/s. Has anyone suffered from this & any advice to give re: cure with minimising downtime on the bike, my GP has hinted at a cortisone injection.

Cheers

rokkala

Nope. I have heard that cortisone injection is one of the most painful things imaginable! Guy i know had something up with his heel, said it hurt like a fothermucker but was fixed forever after that.

Can't for the life of me remember what was wrong in the first place though.

shedhead

They're not nice, i used to play semi-pro football & had one in the top of my big toe once, straight into the bone, that was not a good day out !!!

Buckled_Rims

I had the onset of CTS. I spend years pushing plastic with my thumbs in a factory which caused it. Loads of my (now ex) workmates also developed it.

My right wrist is the main problem and I sometimes get throbbing but I've tried to exercise it daily and it's seems to have worked. I do stretching and bending and grabbing.

If I stay on the computer mouse a long time it also starts to ache.

Try an Ice pack, that helped me. Others had the tight bandages. Andy my mate had the wrist operation. The only advice is to stop what was causing the symptom in the first place and hope for the best.

bobtbuilder

I had two into a shoulder joint whilst I was on the waiting list for a shoulder op. They didn't hurt as much as I feared and gave me approx 30-40% more movement and comfort.

bnmcmhn

I had pain in my wrist for months.Not sure if was CTS but I work on computers all day, and I think it flared up after falling off a few times.

Anyway what helped me was theraputic exercise. I worked on therapy balls (like a stress ball but harder) and a powerball. I particulary recommend the powerball and it's a good idea to keep a therapy ball on your desk. Like anything you'll get the most benefits from structured training. Worth a try anyway.

Cortisione injection is last resort, and not without it's problems

mrc1

bobtbuilder wrote:

I had two into a shoulder joint whilst I was on the waiting list for a shoulder op. They didn't hurt as much as I feared and gave me approx 30-40% more movement and comfort.

After three years of physio from 5 different people I am finally down for some of these next week while I wait for an op on my shoulder. Sounds like you got pretty good results?

tebbit

Bloke I worked with had it, one of the things he did was to stop drinking, and he used to reek of whiskey in the morning on a regular basis, after he stopped the symptoms reduced. One of the things he mentioned was that it is prevalent in Northern Europeans, people of Scandanavian extract apparently, my Dad also had it, but it only affected him in retirement so he wasn't too bothered, the treatment at the time was cutting tendons, it gave a more aesthetically normal looking hand but most of the use was lost. My Dad plumped for the use and for the pain.

shedhead

Saw my GP Friday, going to have a steroid injection in the morning, i'll ley you know the progress if i can type tomorrow.

Frodo1095

The only permanent cure is surgery, yes injections and exercises can help, but I would recommend a nerve conduction test first to confirm the diagnosis.
And definately before I let anyone jab a needle in there.

I used to work for a consultant at Jimmy's in Leeds doing these every week and most GP's could barely spell it let alone diagnosis it. (I apologise now if you have a good GP)

Carpal tunnel is caused by compression of the nerve running through a gap in the wrist bones (i.e. the carpal tunnel) which is located in the middle of the wrist on the underside, jobs like typing and exercise like biking the cause flexion and pressure in this area which can cause the tunnel to become compressed / collapse slightly putting pressure on the nerves which causes the pain.

Quick question: Does your little finger hurt ?

Answer:
No - Then it is most likely carpal tunnel as the little finger and half the ring finger is supplied by the ulnar nerve which does not go through the carpal tunnel whereas the rest of the hand is supplied by the median nerve which does.
Yes - Then it possibly isnt carpal tunnel (see answer above)

What do you do for a living ? Could this be contributing ?

Anonymous

I have to work in Essex, travelling from kent. I have DTS.



Dartford tunnel Syndrome.

Right, I'm off.

shedhead

Hi Frodo,

No my little / ring fingers don't hurt that i notice. The hands, mainly my left one strangely enough as i'm right-handed, wakes me up at night feeling very numb / throbbing.
Also when i'm on the bike (& i mainly ride on the hoods) my hands start to feel numb about 6 or 7 miles into the ride.

I am a Design engineer which means i use my mouse & keyboard most of the day, since the pain has become evident i find i am able to use my mose less before i have to rest it & "shake" it about to relieve the ache. I also find that my fingers seem to be less dexterious than they were.

Cheers :?

shedhead

i find i am able to use my mose less before

Seems to have affected my spelling too !!![/quote]

ut_och_cykla

If its all your fingers - have you excluded teh possibility that it is a neck/shoulder/nerve thing - which can give similar symptoms. My hubby had some similar trouble a few years ago - diagnosed eventually by physio as inflamed nerve from neck (a small awkward fall off a bike had set it off). Cured by gentle neck /shoulder work and acupuncture. hope you havnt had a cortison jab for nothing!

VTTBOSCOMBE

HI Shedhead - your symptoms are exacly what I had a few weeks ago, left hand as well.

It got so bad I couldn't pick anything up, buttons and zips were sheer agony - and sometimes at awkward times a bloody nightmare. As with you, sleep was difficult as I kept waking up. Plus i couldn't drive (safely anyway)

My GP put me on some anti inflam tabs and recommended I use ice packs alot.
Also I wore one of those wrist protector thingies that stop you moving your fingers around. I am sure there is a good mediical term for them.

After two days it suddenly got better, although it still feels a bit sore sometimes.
I was afraid the doctor was going to say no more bike or guitar playing; but he said they should'nt cause it.
I am hoping it won't come back as the thought of further treatment like injections and even surgery makes me go all faint....

Frodo1095

Hi Shedhead

Sounds like carpal tunnel alright. Would still ask about a nerve conduction test to assess severity and confirm diagnosis.

Do you have a gel pad to support your left or right wrists ?
These can help as the straighten out the wrist when you are working, it is the flexion (hand upwards so wrist goes down) that causes the pressure, if you have a gel pad to offer some support it straightens it out relieving some of that tension, you might be able to get these through work if you use computers a lot.

Best of luck

shedhead

Hi Frodo,

i have now got a gel pad & we'll see how we go wth that for my mouse hand. I had a steroid / cortisone jab in my left wrist last night so we'll see how that turns out & the GP said see him in 2 weeks to do the other one.

Cheers