Sleeping Hands
Sleeping Hands
If there is:
- tingling and numbness in your hands
- your hands fall asleep, or you wake up in the night and have to shake your hands or let them hanging out of the bed to fall asleep again
- you have difficulties to pick up or hold small items (coins, …)
you might have a so-called carpal tunnel syndrome.
The reason for all theses symptoms, is a compression of the biggest nerve to the hand at the carpal tunnel, an anatomical structure at wrist level.
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome classically occurs in:
- The elderly patient, in about 50% of all humans
- But also at the end of pregnancy, in about 10% of all carrying women
Very often a Carpal Tunnel Syndrome occurs on both hands
Nerve lesions of any kind need a full neurological work-up.
A close cooperation between Hand Surgery and Neurology is mandatory
Depending on the severity of the symptoms and the result of the neurological examination,
treatment can be non-surgical or surgical.
If it comes to surgery, it is a minimal-invasive operation, most often done in regional anesthesia. No
split is applied, and immediate motion of the hand in encouraged. Physiotherapy is a key of early
return to normal life. Results are very encouraging and stable.
