Tonic Doctor: “Is Surgery Really The Best Treatment For Carpal Tunnel Syndrome?”
“My 75-year-old mother has been diagnosed with carpal tunnel syndrome and the doctor has recommended surgery. I had carpal tunnel a few years ago and was treated non-surgically. Surely there are better options for a woman my mum’s age?”
Carpal tunnel syndrome occurs when a nerve is compressed as it passes through your wrist, causing numbness, pins and needles or tingling in your thumb and fingers (except your little finger). Other symptoms may include clumsiness, weakness, and some people also experience pain.
In mild cases, carpal tunnel syndrome may get better on its own, usually within a few weeks. If treatment is needed, there is a range of options, all of which aim to reduce the pressure on the nerve. Which treatment is recommended depends on a number of factors.
The simplest and most effective non-surgical treatment is wearing a wrist brace at night. This stops you from positioning your wrist in postures that increase pressure on the nerve. Another strategy is to change how you use your hand on a day-to-day basis, avoiding activities that aggravate your symptoms.
Other non-invasive treatments include exercises provided by a physiotherapist or hand therapist, or a steroid injection. Surgery is also a common treatment for carpal tunnel syndrome and provides good long-term results. It is usually a very straightforward procedure and people go home on the same day.
The fact that surgery has been recommended for your mother suggests that her condition is severe. The more severe symptoms are, the less likely it is that conservative treatments such as bracing and exercise will work. Having said that, she has little to lose by trying a brace at night while she waits to see a surgeon. If her numbness is becoming constant, or there is wasting of the muscles around the thumb, which suggests that the nerve compression is severe, I would not delay seeking an opinion from a surgeon.
Ultimately, any treatment decision needs to consider your mum’s carpal tunnel syndrome in the context of her overall health, its severity and of course, her preferences.
Words_ Answer by Brodwen McBain of the La Trobe Sport and Exercise Medicine Research Centre
Photos_ Ivan Smakov/Pexels