The Down Side of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Surgery

If you are one of the many people who grind it out on the computer each day or work with your hands a lot, you surely have developed some stiffness and pain at various points in your career. It may be that the problem nagged for awhile and went away, or might have even spanned only a few hours. You may have brushed up against carpal tunnel syndrome.

The truth is that more people than ever are plagued with carpel tunnel syndrome than ever before, and many let it go untreated for too long. And if you are finally trying to do something about your carpel tunnel symptoms, you may be considering carpel tunnel surgery. If so, you are probably wondering what it involves and the risk associated.

Your hands, fingers and wrists are able to perform the motions they do because of the nerves and ligaments that run through them. They are hard at work when you are. But when they are overworked, the median nerve in your wrist may become compressed. Repetitive motion causes the transverse carpel ligament to tighten creating pressure and discomfort, thus the name carpel tunnel syndrome. When surgery is performed, it is done to relieve the pressure on the median nerve.

The surgery is a simple procedure only requiring twilight anesthesia. The surgeon makes a tiny incision in the patient’s palm; he/she then cuts the transverse carpel ligament to ease the pressure that has built up on the median nerve. This creates more room for the other ligaments and eases the pain for the patient. There is a two to six week recovery period during which the ligament heals and scars over.

Surgery of any kind carries a risk and carpel tunnel surgery is no exception. Although usually effective, at least for a time, the patient faces the risk of losing some strength and feeling in their hand and/or arm. This surgery involves a number of tiny nerves and muscles that may experience trauma during the proceeding. In addition the syndrome may reoccur at a later time. The cost is also approximately $10,000 so it is not always an easy decision to make. Understanding what is involved and what your options are will make the decision a bit easier.

Alternate forms of treatment are often recommended prior to surgery and have a very good success rate. Your doctor may recommend rest and physical therapy as a first option. This is a beneficial step to take even if you do go forward with surgery. A physical therapist can show you how to use your hands and wrists in such a way as to avoid future or additional damage to your carpal tunnel area. The exercises they give you, if performed faithfully, will also loosen the transverse carpal ligament and help you develop strength and flexibility in the afflicted area.

Carpal tunnel syndrome surgery may not be the quick fix you once thought it was. Therefore, you may benefit from first trying alternative forms of treatment before undergoing a surgical procedure that bears some risk.

The pain of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome can make people desperate enough to take drastic measures in trying to find relief. Find out what doctors already know about carpal tunnel surgery that they might not tell you. There are ways around surgery!