Has anybody suffered carpal tunnel? I have thenar atrophy and have pain in hand and arm at night, Does surgery help
I've had bouts of carpel tunnel over the years from all the work I do with my hands. It seems to have settled down though. A couple years ago I had a joint in my thumb locking and had to go get a very painful shot and do some physical therapy to get rid of it. I have talked to people who've had the surgery who said it helped and some who said it didn't and actually made things worse. Do you ever wear wrist braces? You can get those at local pharmacies and Walmart and places like that. Maybe try that first?
I've had carpal tunnel and bought myself a support that has two metal flat bars in it. Worked for me. I got the carpal tunnel from driving a farm tractor.
I imagine that everyone is different. I had it from all the keyboard time I got at work and at home. I wore a brace and popped NSAIDs for a while. It cleared up for me. I've known others who have worn braces for years and still winced in pain.
Come to think about it, I got it from using the computer keyboard also. I've seen a number of Seniors wearing the brace I have, working as a cashier at Walmart.
I've seen young people wearing them, both keyboard commandos and cashiers. Maybe older folks are exacerbated by arthritis.
I had it as a young man while I was working at a sawmill stacking lumber. A doctor gave me a brace and told me to wear it for 6 weeks and if it didn't clear up I would need surgery. I quit the job and it did clear up, but I get twinges of it now and then when doing heavy work with my hands. I just stop doing whatever was aggravating it and it goes away.
I have carpal, cubital, and tarsal tunnel since my mid 30's. I said no to surgery and use compression sleeves and most of all learn to change activities that cause it. I also use stretching which really helps. The idea is to open up the tunnel by stretching. Lots of good YouTube videos about stretching therapy.
During my working years I was constantly on the computer and had the beginnings of CTS. I got a wrist brace and since I am ambidextrous with many things I learned to navigate with a mouse with my left hand. To this day I swap back and forth between my hands to limit the wear and tear on my wrists.