Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
CARPAL TUNNEL SYNDROME
A Term Paper Presented to the Faculty of
Information Technology
In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the
Degree of Bachelor of Science in
Information Technology
Barros, Nikki Jezzel C.
Introduction
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome or CTS is a condition where an affected person finds his hands being numb for quite some time and then suddenly feels a sharp, tingling pain from the wrists up to the arms. Also called median nerve entrapment, CTS occurs when the median nerve, a major nerve running from the forearm to the hand, is compressed, causing heightened and even painful sensations to the palm and wrist. The median nerve is mainly in charge of the hand movements, controlling impulses to the hand muscles and the sensations felt in the palm and fingers. The carpal tunnel, then again, is a narrow passageway of ligaments found in the base of the hand, and is where the median nerve can be found. Too much swelling of the tendons and muscles in the carpal tunnel pressures the median nerve, thus the pain.
Causes
At most cases, there are seldom problems with the median nerve itself, and the presented dilemma is mostly occurring because of factors affecting the median nerve. As stated by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS, 2009), there are cases of congenital predisposition, where an individual’s carpal tunnel is smaller compared to the common therefore enhancing the risk of developing the swells and compression.
Aside from this, other main factors include wrist trauma or injury, like fractures; over-activity of the pituitary gland, an important controller of the endocrine system attached to the brain which manages hormone secretion (Carter 2004); hypothyroidism, a condition where the thyroid gland, located at the lower part of the neck, does not make enough hormones essential for metabolism and growth (Hypothyroidism, 2010; Thyroid gland, 2010); rheumatoid arthritis, a
A Term Paper Presented to the Faculty of
Information Technology
In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the
Degree of Bachelor of Science in
Information Technology
Barros, Nikki Jezzel C.
Introduction
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome or CTS is a condition where an affected person finds his hands being numb for quite some time and then suddenly feels a sharp, tingling pain from the wrists up to the arms. Also called median nerve entrapment, CTS occurs when the median nerve, a major nerve running from the forearm to the hand, is compressed, causing heightened and even painful sensations to the palm and wrist. The median nerve is mainly in charge of the hand movements, controlling impulses to the hand muscles and the sensations felt in the palm and fingers. The carpal tunnel, then again, is a narrow passageway of ligaments found in the base of the hand, and is where the median nerve can be found. Too much swelling of the tendons and muscles in the carpal tunnel pressures the median nerve, thus the pain.
Causes
At most cases, there are seldom problems with the median nerve itself, and the presented dilemma is mostly occurring because of factors affecting the median nerve. As stated by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS, 2009), there are cases of congenital predisposition, where an individual’s carpal tunnel is smaller compared to the common therefore enhancing the risk of developing the swells and compression.
Aside from this, other main factors include wrist trauma or injury, like fractures; over-activity of the pituitary gland, an important controller of the endocrine system attached to the brain which manages hormone secretion (Carter 2004); hypothyroidism, a condition where the thyroid gland, located at the lower part of the neck, does not make enough hormones essential for metabolism and growth (Hypothyroidism, 2010; Thyroid gland, 2010); rheumatoid arthritis, a
Bibliography: Carter, J. S. (2004). Endocrine system. Retrieved from http://biology.clc.uc.edu/courses/bio105/endocrin.htm Hypothyroidism. (2010). In Medline Plus encyclopedia. Retrieved from http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000353.htm National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. (2009). Carpal Tunnel Syndrome fact sheet. Retrieved from http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/carpal_tunnel/detail_carpal_tunnel.htm Rheumatoid arthritis. (2010). In Medline Plus encyclopedia. Retrieved from http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/rheumatoidarthritis.html] Thyroid gland. (2010). In Encyclopædia Britannica online. Retrieved from http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/594629/thyroid-gland