Healthy Living

Reasons Why You Need Carpal Tunnel Laser Surgery

Reasons Why You Need Carpal Tunnel Laser Surgery

Carpal Tunnel syndrome refers to when the median nerve, located in the wrist, receives too much pressure and causes tingling, numbing and pain of the entire arm or hand. The median nerve and other tendons run from the arm to the palm through a small space that is found in your wrist. These tendons are responsible for feeling and control in your hand. If they are affected in this way, you will eventually not be able to do anything with that hand. The syndrome kicks in when the carpal tunnel becomes smaller and the tendons don’t perform as well as they should.

What Causes It

The median nerve is significant to the functioning of the arm. When the carpal tunnel closes up, the nerve is hindered from functioning properly.

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This syndrome is degenerative because it erodes away at your muscle continuously until you lose complete function of your arm. There are many things that cause the carpal tunnel to close up. These will include:

  • Injury or trauma to the wrist can cause it to close up, especially when you sprain or break the wrist
  • Mechanical problems on the wrist
  • Pregnancy which causes fluid retention
  • There could be a possible cyst or tumor in there
  • Rheumatoid arthritis

While research findings are as of yet inconclusive, many say that carpal tunnel syndrome is caused by repetitive, strong motion.

What Is Carpal Tunnel Laser Surgery?

When you see the name laser surgery, you will think that the doctor or surgeon will point a laser at your carpal tunnel and treat it. Well, that is not the case. What happens with lasers and carpal tunnel is that they are used to stimulate activity like blood circulation and stopping or dispersing of inflammation.

In other procedures, they do use lasers directly by pointing them at the affected area and treating it. However, this method requires a great deal of skill to execute properly, and the results may also be short term. The term that is used for this kind of carpal tunnel surgery is "cold laser therapy".

How It Works

When the laser is pointed at the affected area, its sole purpose is to get the inflammation dispersed and to ensure that function can return to the wrist and arm. There are side effects to cold laser surgery. These side effects may include stimulation of the immune lymphatic and the vascular systems, but for a short while.

Cold laser therapy is not cheap. The frequency you must administer cold laser surgery at to ensure its effectiveness on carpal tunnel syndrome can quickly make an impact on your wallet. Many times cold laser surgery patients are visiting their doctor three times a week. This treatment is used mainly for relief in the hand and wrist for a short while.

Many doctors recommend that you perform the procedure as soon as you can. That way, you can be sure that you can alleviate some pain in the short term, as well as ensure the functionality of your hand and arm for the future.

Why You Would Need Carpal Tunnel Surgery

There are a lot of things that we do in our daily lives that involve our hands. When we are incapacitated, without the ability to use our hands, the effects can be limiting. Here are some of the reasons why you will need to get carpal tunnel laser surgery.

    1.   Relief from the pain

When you are suffering from carpal tunnel syndrome, you will be undergoing bouts of pain that come and go and sometimes stay as a throbbing pain which sticks around for some time after you have been applying pressure to your arm during working or activity.

When you have this kind of pain, it is imperative that you get immediate relief from it and keep away the pain. This will help you to focus on the activities in your life that matter - without being distracted.

    2. Long Term Negligence Effects

Carpal tunnel syndrome is progressive. That means that it keeps on getting worse as time goes by, and the longer you ignore it, the harder it will be to handle. At a late stage, you will have lots of trouble even after surgical treatment.

To keep from getting to this later and more difficult stage, you will need to have laser surgery to delay the effects while you wait to have it corrected in an open surgery. In open surgery, the carpal tunnel is opened up and the carpal ligament is cut away. This relieves the pressure on the median nerve and presto, your carpal tunnel syndrome is relieved.

    3. The Pressure on The Carpal Tunnels is Reduced

When the cold laser therapy is applied, you will have less pressure in the arm and you will have to get that relived every now and then, sometimes 2-3 times a week. That is why they will recommend for you to go and get the surgery done.

    4.  Save Time and Money

The longer you leave your syndrome untreated, the harder it will be to deal with, and the more painful it will become. This is one of those times that you need to nip something in the bud. Laser therapy does not exactly save time but when you are a working man or woman with a workplace to get back to, you will want to save time.

NOTE: Most doctors, unless they want to fleece you first, will advise you to skip the cold laser procedure, until the first chance you get to have open surgery performed.

Bottom Line

Carpal tunnel syndrome is a real threat in the world today because of all the activities that we engage in. Almost everything we do will require you to use your hands. you can get this condition from the time that you spend on the keyboard typing and gaming. Jobs, especially those that need you to strain the hand, are major contributors to carpal tunnel syndrome. You are advised to keep yourself safe and look out for your hands. Exercise them regularly by stretching and you will ensure your health for years to come.