How does surgery fix carpal tunnel

Surgery for carpal tunnel syndrome may give you only a little relief if your symptoms are caused by other health problems, such as rheumatoid arthritis, hypothyroidism, or diabetes.

Treating these problems often makes carpal tunnel symptoms get better or go away. But in some cases, you still might need surgery. Symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome in pregnant women often go away after childbirth. Unless your symptoms are very bad, you may want to wait and see if your symptoms go away after you have the baby. What is carpal tunnel syndrome?

What problems can you have from carpal tunnel syndrome? You may have: Pain. Weak thumb muscles. This makes it hard for you to grip or hold objects.

Loss of feeling and ability to use your fingers and hand well. How does surgery fix carpal tunnel syndrome? It can be done in one of two ways: Open surgery : Your doctor makes a small cut incision in the palm of your hand. Endoscopic surgery : Your doctor makes one small incision in the wrist, or one small incision in the wrist and one in the palm. He or she puts a thin tube with a camera attached endoscope into the incision. Surgical tools are put in along with the scope.

How well does surgery work? What can you do other than have surgery? You may try to: Rest your hand for 1 or 2 weeks. Stop activities that hurt. Put ice on the palm of your hand and wrist for 10 to 15 minutes at a time. Studies haven't shown NSAIDs to be effective for carpal tunnel syndrome, but they may help relieve your symptoms. They can cause side effects. Be safe with medicines. Read and follow all instructions on the label.

Change the way you do certain hand motions. Wear a wrist splint. It's usually worn at night, but you can wear it during the day. Other choices You can work with a physiotherapist to learn how to do activities in a new way.

If these home care treatments don't help, you may be able to take corticosteroid shots or pills to improve your symptoms. You can try yoga. Unless your symptoms are very bad, you may want to put off having surgery and see if your symptoms go away after you have the baby. How well do other treatments help symptoms? Splints are easy and inexpensive, and there is little risk to trying them. Corticosteroid shots and pills give short-term relief from symptoms. Why might your doctor recommend surgery for carpal tunnel syndrome?

Your doctor might recommend surgery if: You've had very bad symptoms for a long time, so you're at risk of having lasting nerve damage. Test show that you have nerve damage. A wrist splint, medicines, and other treatments haven't helped your symptoms. Compare your options. Compare Option 1 Have surgery for carpal tunnel syndrome Try other treatments. Compare Option 2 Have surgery for carpal tunnel syndrome Try other treatments.

Have surgery for carpal tunnel syndrome Have surgery for carpal tunnel syndrome You have local anesthetic, so you are awake but won't have pain. You go home on the same day. You need to avoid heavy use of your hand for up to 3 months. If you have open surgery on your dominant hand and you do repeated actions at work, you may be able to return to work in 6 to 8 weeks.

If the surgery is on the other hand and you do not do repeated actions at work, you may be able to return to work in 7 to 14 days. If you have endoscopic surgery, you may be able to return to work sooner than with open surgery.

Surgery can make symptoms get better or go away for most people. It can prevent lasting nerve damage. Surgery doesn't always help. Your symptoms may come back. Major problems from surgery, such as infection or a problem from anesthesia, are rare. Try other treatments Try other treatments You can try several home treatments to ease symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome, including: Rest. A wrist splint. If the surgery was on the other hand and you do not do repeated actions at work, you may be able to return to work in 7 to 14 days.

Most people who have surgery for carpal tunnel syndrome have fewer or no symptoms of pain and numbness in their hand after surgery. In rare cases, the symptoms of pain and numbness may return the most common complication , or there may be temporary loss of strength when pinching or gripping an object, due to the cutting of the transverse carpal ligament.

If the thumb muscles have been severely weakened or wasted away, hand strength and function may be limited even after surgery. Both endoscopic and open carpal tunnel release have benefits and risks. Studies do not show that one procedure is better than the other. The risk and complication rates of open surgery are very low.

After open surgery, recovery may be slower than after endoscopic surgery. And there may be some pain in the wrist and hand. You may also have some tenderness around the scar. There are also the risks of any type of surgery, including possible infection and risks of general anesthesia. But most open carpal tunnel surgery is done with local anesthesia or regional block rather than with general anesthesia. Open carpal tunnel surgery cuts open the base of the palm and may require a longer recovery period than endoscopic surgery.

Temporary nerve problems may be less likely with open surgery. But painful scar tissue may be more likely to develop after open surgery than after endoscopic surgery. Recovery involves splinting your wrist and getting physical therapy to strengthen and heal the wrist and hand.

There may be other risks, depending on your specific medical condition. Be sure to discuss any concerns with your doctor before the procedure. Carpal tunnel release is usually an outpatient procedure, which means that you can go home the same day as the surgery if all goes well. There are 2 types of carpal tunnel release surgery.

The traditional method is the open release, in which the surgeon cuts open the wrist to do the surgery. The other method is endoscopic carpal tunnel release, in which a thin, flexible tube that contains a camera is put into the wrist through a tiny incision cut.

The camera guides the doctor as the surgery is done with thin tools put into the wrist through another small cut. Once the surgery is done, you'll be monitored for a short time, and then allowed to go home. Only in rare cases or complications is an overnight stay needed for a carpal tunnel release surgery. Your wrist will likely be in a heavy bandage or a splint for 1 to 2 weeks. Doctors usually schedule another appointment to remove the bandage or splint. During this time, you may be encouraged to move your fingers to help prevent stiffness.

You'll probably have pain in your hand and wrist after surgery. It's usually controlled with pain medicines taken by mouth. The surgeon may also have you keep the affected hand elevated while sleeping at night to help decrease swelling. Once the splint is removed, you will likely begin a physical therapy program.

The physical therapist will teach you motion exercises to improve the movement of your wrist and hand. These exercises will speed healing and strengthen the area.

History of symptoms. Your doctor will review the pattern of your symptoms. For example, because the median nerve doesn't provide sensation to your little finger, symptoms in that finger may indicate a problem other than carpal tunnel syndrome.

Carpal tunnel syndrome symptoms usually occur while holding a phone or a newspaper or gripping a steering wheel. They also tend to occur at night and may wake you during the night, or you may notice the numbness when you wake up in the morning. Physical examination. Your doctor will conduct a physical examination. He or she will test the feeling in your fingers and the strength of the muscles in your hand. Bending the wrist, tapping on the nerve or simply pressing on the nerve can trigger symptoms in many people.

Our caring team of Mayo Clinic experts can help you with your carpal tunnel syndrome-related health concerns Start Here. Treat carpal tunnel syndrome as early as possible after symptoms start. In the early stages, simple things that you can do for yourself may make the problem go away.

For example:. Other treatment options include wrist splinting, medications and surgery. Splinting and other conservative treatments are more likely to help if you've had only mild to moderate symptoms that come and go for less than 10 months. If you have numbness in your hands, you need to see a doctor. If the condition is diagnosed early, nonsurgical methods may help improve carpal tunnel syndrome, including:.

Your doctor may inject your carpal tunnel with a corticosteroid such as cortisone to relieve pain. Sometimes your doctor uses an ultrasound to guide these injections.

Corticosteroids decrease inflammation and swelling, which relieves pressure on the median nerve. Oral corticosteroids aren't considered as effective as corticosteroid injections for treating carpal tunnel syndrome. If carpal tunnel syndrome is caused by rheumatoid arthritis or another inflammatory arthritis, then treating the arthritis may reduce symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome.