anyone know what carpo tunnel syndrome is?i think that is how it is spelt?

Question

a friend of mine keeps saying this when he holds something heavy his hand locks i think he is making it up and keep laughing at him is this a real thing to have?

Answer 1

Yes, it's real. It's a condition often associated with what has been termed Work Related Upper Limb Disorder. Generally caused by repetitive movements. Was also known at one time as RSI (Repetitive Strain Injury) until some worldly wise Judge ruled that there was no such medical condition.

Answer 2

Carpal tunnel syndrome is due to squeezing of the median nerve as it passes through the wrist to the hand. This nerve is contained in the carpal tunnel, a narrow channel just above the wrist. In carpal tunnel syndrome, that channel starts to shrink, compressing the nerve and causing inflammation. The result is hand pain, numbness, tingling and, sometimes, hand weakness or restricted movement. The ring finger and little finger are usually spared. The median nerve carries messages between the thumb, index finger, and middle finger and the brain. Pain, touch, and sensation are transmitted one way. Instructions to move muscles are sent in the opposite direction. The transverse ligament runs across the inside of the wrist like a watch strap. The carpal tunnel is the space between this and the bones on the outside of the wrist. The tendons, the muscles of the fingers, blood vessels, and nerves pass through it. The median nerve lies on top of them on the inside of the wrist. There is just enough room for it between the tendons and the transverse ligament. The tendons are lubricated to prevent rubbing. If something goes wrong with the lubrication, they get inflamed. They swell up, pushing the median nerve against the transverse ligament. Eventually it gets so compressed that it starts to malfunction. Some medical conditions are associated with problem tendons and therefore with carpal tunnel syndrome.
The symptoms that you describe of your friend’s ‘locking hand’ resemble the symptoms of Trigger Finger, this is the popular name of stenosing tenosynovitis, a painful condition in which one or more fingers or / and a thumb lock when it / they is / are bent (flexed) or straightened (extended). The symptoms of trigger finger are pain in the fingers and "popping" sensations. Sometimes the finger/s may lock down into the palm or lock out straight. Symptoms are usually worse in the morning and improve during the day.
I add a link for both subjects

http://www.handsurgeon.com/
trigger.html


http://www.aafp.org/afp/
20030715/265.html


Hope this helps
matador 89

Answer 3

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/carpal_tunnel/detail_carpal_tunnel.htm

Answer 4

What is carpal tunnel syndrome?

Carpal tunnel syndrome occurs when the median nerve, which runs from the forearm into the hand, becomes pressed or squeezed at the wrist. The median nerve controls sensations to the palm side of the thumb and fingers (although not the little finger), as well as impulses to some small muscles in the hand that allow the fingers and thumb to move. The carpal tunnel - a narrow, rigid passageway of ligament and bones at the base of the hand ¾ houses the median nerve and tendons. Sometimes, thickening from irritated tendons or other swelling narrows the tunnel and causes the median nerve to be compressed. The result may be pain, weakness, or numbness in the hand and wrist, radiating up the arm. Although painful sensations may indicate other conditions, carpal tunnel syndrome is the most common and widely known of the entrapment neuropathies in which the body's peripheral nerves are compressed or traumatized.


What are the symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome?

Symptoms usually start gradually, with frequent burning, tingling, or itching numbness in the palm of the hand and the fingers, especially the thumb and the index and middle fingers. Some carpal tunnel sufferers say their fingers feel useless and swollen, even though little or no swelling is apparent. The symptoms often first appear in one or both hands during the night, since many people sleep with flexed wrists. A person with carpal tunnel syndrome may wake up feeling the need to "shake out" the hand or wrist. As symptoms worsen, people might feel tingling during the day. Decreased grip strength may make it difficult to form a fist, grasp small objects, or perform other manual tasks. In chronic and/or untreated cases, the muscles at the base of the thumb may waste away. Some people are unable to tell between hot and cold by touch.


What are the causes of carpal tunnel syndrome?

Carpal tunnel syndrome is often the result of a combination of factors that increase pressure on the median nerve and tendons in the carpal tunnel, rather than a problem with the nerve itself. Most likely the disorder is due to a congenital predisposition - the carpal tunnel is simply smaller in some people than in others. Other contributing factors include trauma or injury to the wrist that cause swelling, such as sprain or fracture; overactivity of the pituitary gland; hypothyroidism; rheumatoid arthritis; mechanical problems in the wrist joint; work stress; repeated use of vibrating hand tools; fluid retention during pregnancy or menopause; or the development of a cyst or tumor in the canal. In some cases no cause can be identified.

There is little clinical data to prove whether repetitive and forceful movements of the hand and wrist during work or leisure activities can cause carpal tunnel syndrome. Repeated motions performed in the course of normal work or other daily activities can result in repetitive motion disorders such as bursitis and tendonitis. Writer's cramp - a condition in which a lack of fine motor skill coordination and ache and pressure in the fingers, wrist, or forearm is brought on by repetitive activity - is not a symptom of carpal tunnel syndrome.

Answer 5

Unfortunately, It's a by-product of the personnel computer age It's Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. and it effects the Carpal nerves of the hands.

Answer 6

It's more like "carpal", and it is definitely a real thing. Also known as "repetitive stress disorder", it's caused by doing the same motions over and over again, such as typing or using a mouse. Basically, the cushions between your bones at the joints wear out, so it hurts to move, and extreme cases can indeed cause your hand to "lock up".

Answer 7

It is real and more common than ever. Nerves are injured or trapped in the carpal tunnel, a narrow, hollow passage through the wrist carrying nerves to the hands.

In years gone by this was caused by things like pneumatic drills, now it is more commonly caused by repeated use of computer keyboards!

It can be corrected with physio or minor surgery.

Answer 8

Yes it is a real condition ..check out nhs direct for the correct definition.
Its carpal tunnel syndrome by the way.

Answer 9

I know of 2 people who have had to have corrective surgery for carpal tunnel syndrome....It's a very painful condition.

Answer 10

Carpel Tunnel.