Throughout your recovery, a hand surgeon will observe your progress to make sure that you are on the right track. Occupational therapy will build up your strength so that you can use your hands normally. Some patients report that they their hand and wrist feel weaker after the surgery. These exercises can speed up the healing. In occupational therapy, you’ll learn exercises that work on your hand and wrist movement. Once the cast is removed, expect 4-6 weeks of occupational therapy. During that time, you might experience some pain and stiffness. What happens after carpal tunnel surgery?Īfter surgery, you can expect 3 weeks in a cast. After the procedure’s completed, the surgeon will put your hand in a cast. The procedure is completed in less than an hour. With either method, you’ll receive local anesthetic to numb your hand and wrist. Using the endoscopic method, the surgeon performs the surgery using a camera and tools inserted with a tube. Using the traditional method, the surgeon opens up the wrist with a small incision. There are two ways that carpal tunnel surgery is done. The extra room created by cutting that ligament will reduce your pain and make movement easier. What is carpal tunnel surgery?Ĭarpal tunnel surgery is also commonly called “carpal tunnel release.” During the procedure, a hand surgeon will cut the ligament that is putting pressure on the carpal tunnel. But If these more conservative treatments fail, carpal tunnel surgery is the next step. Mild to moderate symptoms from carpal tunnel can be improved without surgery. Steroids decrease swelling, and this relieves pressure on the medial nerve. A splint keeps your wrist in a neutral position to reduce pain.Ĭorticosteroids: A doctor may inject a corticosteroid into your carpal tunnel to relive your pain. When your wrist is in a bent position, carpal tunnel symptoms get worse. Splinting: You may be given a splint that holds your wrist while you sleep. Here are some of the non-surgical treatments that Michigan Surgery Specialists offer: And if this is the first time that you’re researching carpal tunnel syndrome, non-surgical treatments will be the first step for you. Why choose Michigan Surgery Specialists?Īre there non-surgical treatments for carpal tunnel syndrome?.What happens after carpal tunnel surgery?.Are there non-surgical treatments for carpal tunnel syndrome?.In this post, we’ll cover some of the common questions that patients have about carpal tunnel surgery. But when splinting and injections don’t reduce your pain, surgery is the only option left. There might be some tenderness in the palm, there might still be some numbness or tingling in the fingers with activities, there might be some weakness of grip or some easier fatigue ability in that hand, so it's important to remember that the result is not a perfectly normal hand as if nothing were ever wrong with it.īut usually it's a much improved hand with much less in the way of numbness and tingling, a stronger grip, better dexterity and a better ability to do everyday activities.Are you one of the 4 to 10 million Americans who suffer from carpal tunnel syndrome? The hand is not perfectly, completely normal like it was when they were younger and healthier. However, it's important to remember that most people who have carpal tunnel syndrome, if you ask them closely, will say that they do have some residual problems in that hand. So usually the result is good from that regard, that additional surgery isn't likely to be necessary. Even at the most extreme, it's probably less than (a) 5 percent chance that you might have to have the operation done over again. The long-term results after carpal tunnel surgery are usually pretty good. So, the results are good and they're fairly predictable, but the typical result is not a normal hand. Usually, there's some tenderness that stays in the palm, some weakness that remains in your gripping strength or some lack of endurance, and there may still be some numbness or tingling in the fingers. Probably less than half of people who have carpal tunnel surgery really feel that their hands have returned to normal afterward. That doesn't mean that you're normal, though, after the surgery. About 90 percent of the people who have carpal tunnel surgery are happy that they had the surgery. Well, most people are improved after carpal tunnel surgery. Peter Amadio, M.D., a Mayo Clinic hand surgeon
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