"What is Carpal Tunnel Syndrome? and; Is it serious?" are questions that I hear all the time. 

In order to better understand carpal tunnel syndrome, it helps to know the anatomy of the structures involved.  The nerve that comes out of our neck, runs down the arm and controls our thumb, pointer finger and middle finger is called the median nerve.  As the median nerve makes it way through the carpal bones in the wrist, it passes through a "tunnel" made up of various carpal bones known as the carpal tunnel.  The nerve doesn't have much excess room in this tunnel and is affected by any amount of irritation, inflammation or scar tissue that may accumulate around the carpal bones.  If the median nerve gets pinched as it passes through the carpal tunnel, we get Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. 

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is usually caused by repetitive tasks involving the arms, wrists and hands such as frequent computer use, construction work, meat cutters and a host of other types of work.  The most common causes of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is computer mouse work and keyboard use.

Symptoms of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome include pain in the hands / wrists at night, weakness of your grip, clumsiness of the hands and numbness and tingling of the hands / wrists.  It is also not uncommon to have symptoms all along the median nerve including elbow pain, shoulder pain and neck pain.

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome can be very serious.  Over the course of my years in practice I have had patients undergo surgical repair of the carpal tunnel who never fully recover.  Sometimes those with Carpal Tunnel Syndrome make a full recovery while other suffer symtoms and sometimes disability for the rest of their lives. 

Treating Carpal Tunnel Syndrome has to begin early after symptoms appear and it has to include ergonomic improvements in your work station.  Treatment makes little sense if you don't reduce or eliminate the cause of the stress that led to the symptoms in the first place.  Eliminating or reducing the offending stress is the key to successfully treating Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.

The Ergo Nav helps reduce or eliminate many of the stresses assocaiated with using the mouse.  Order your Ergo Nav today!