Carpal Tunnel?!
Question:
Carpal Tunnel?
Anything to help... without surgery... Hand falls asleep while driving and stuff.
Answers:
Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) symptoms usually are only in the thumb, index and long fingers, not the whole hand. Forceful repetitive motions with the hands are a typical cause. You are describing whole hand pins and needles sensation while holding the hand in a static position. This may be something else.
Here are some suggestions on avoiding CTS anyway:
* Train yourself to sleep with your wrists straight, not tightly curled forward. Splints at night can help with this.
* If you use your hands a lot at work, avoid overuse at home. Over use at home includes hand intensive leisure activities like knitting, making cake flowers and the like.
*Avoid positioning the wrist during the daytime in a sharp forward or backward bend. Eliminate this in driving.
*Avoid excessive force in hand activities. Type gently, minimize heavy single-handed lifting, avoid forceful repetitive grip.
Specifically, you may be generating the symptoms while driving by putting excessive force on the palm (or heel) of your hand to hold your hand on the steering wheel. Use gentle grasp, not a hard push or death grip on the steering wheel.
Elbows and necks can also cause symptoms in the hand. If your situation does not improve soon, you need to talk to a doctor. Surgery is the last thing a doctor considers, not the first. Besides, you are in control of your health decisions, not the doctor. See attached reference for more info.