For various reasons, the median nerve may be compressed within the carpal tunnel. This compression will progressively lead to disturbances in sensitivity (paresthesia), numbness or pain in the fingers and hand, and can radiate in the arm to the elbow or shoulder.
In the absence of treatment, compression on the median nerve can lead -in the most severe cases- to a permanent insensitivity of the first three fingers and sometimes a paralysis of the thumb.
Your surgeon will need an electromyogram, which is a specific exam that locates the compression and evaluates its importance.
Treatment options
Medical Treatment
In first instance, it is possible to fight against pain and inflammation by prescribing analgesics and anti-inflammatory agents, or even injection. A nocturnal resting splint may also be proposed.
In the event of failure of medical treatment, surgery will be considered.
Surgical Treatment
The operation consists in opening the carpal tunnel by cutting the anterior ligament.
Generally, carpal tunnel surgery is performed under regional or loco-regional anesthesia, rarely under general anesthesia.
At the Bordeaux-Merignac Sport Clinic this procedure is performed as an outpatient basis.
