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Your friends and family may have told you and maybe even your doctor has told you that they think you need carpal tunnel surgery. But do they really know for sure? More importantly do you know for sure? And do you know that there are 6 good reasons why you shouldn't have that carpal tunnel surgery procedure? Now don't get me wrong, carpal tunnel surgery is sometimes needed and it is often very effective but first you have to make sure that you are a good surgical candidate. Below will be 6 things you should consider before you go under the knife. 1) Nonsurgical or conservative treatment is relieving or helping your carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) pain. The mainstays of nonsurgical treatment are a high-quality carpal tunnel brace for day use, which can help support and remind you to keep your wrist in a neutral position. A comfortable night splint or nocturnal splint for your wrist is also recommended. It has been proven that at night we tend to curl up or sleep with our hands or wrists in awkward postures; this can crimp the median nerve that runs through your wrist, which may aggravate your carpal tunnel condition even more. A good night splint keeps your wrist stay in a nice neutral position with padded protection. Other treatments such as ice wrist wraps, pain relieving creams and gels and certain antiinflammatory medicines often help reduce the swelling and inflammation of your carpal tunnel area as well. 2) Your doctor is unsure of your carpal tunnel diagnosis. There are some other conditions that may mimic carpal tunnel syndrome such as cervical disc problems in the neck, chronic hand and wrist tendonitis and diabetic neuropathy of the hands to name a few. There are tests and exams that can be done to rule out these things, so make sure that a rush to diagnose you with carpal tunnel is avoided. 3) There is no guarantee of success with any surgery...and the same goes for carpal tunnel surgery. Although most studies have shown that in a properly diagnosed patient there is about a 90% or greater success rate in carpal tunnel surgery, as discussed earlier the main factor goes back to proper patient selection. Also In rare cases your carpal tunnel symptoms may return. 4) As with any surgery, there is a risk of complications. Infection or bleeding problems. Anesthesia-related problems. A risk of the median nerve being knicked or cut, giving you permanent symptoms of numbness and tingling. For most carpal tunnel surgeries the complication rate is about 1-5% which for surgery in general is good. 5) Although uncommon, if your thumb muscles have already been severely weakened or wasted away (called atrophy) to a point where surgery may not benefit you much anyway and you don't use your hands much..say a nursing home patient...is it worth the risk of surgery?
6) Lastly, a hand surgeon from the department of Orthopedics at Duke University, Dr James Urbaniak says that special exercises, wrist splints, work station re-design and other nonsurgical treatments we have talked about can frequently alleviate symptoms. "There are other treatments for CTS besides surgery". www.carpal-tunnel-symptoms.com/carpal-tunnel-store.html He says that carpal tunnel surgery should be the last resort. "The most common problem I see with carpal tunnel syndrome is that someone has had the surgery and they really didn't have carpal tunnel syndrome". Hopefully this article will help you decide if your really need carpal tunnel surgery or not.
Joe Shaw PA-C Board Certified and Licensed Healthcare Provider gives you the facts about carpal tunnel syndrome http://www.carpal-tunnel-symptoms.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Joe_A_Shaw
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