Carpal tunnel syndrome can affect up to one in 10 people in Italy. This is the estimate of scientists from the Catholic University of Rome, and the IRCCS Gemelli Polyclinic Foundation directed by Luca Padua, who take stock of the pathology in a work published in The Lancet Neurology. “Today – explains Padua – we have acquired increasingly better diagnostic approaches and ultrasound systems also come to our aid”. As for treatments, the syndrome may require different types of therapeutic interventions, including surgery; however the first step in the treatment of the syndrome is conservative, with braces which, by limiting movements, reduce stress on the wrist and corticosteroid injections. Surgery should be reserved for more severe and more advanced compressions.
Carpal tunnel is the most common entrapment neuropathy, with a certain impact on the NHS in terms of costs. It consists of a suffering of the median nerve at the level of its passage in the carpal tunnel, i.e. at the wrist. Through traumatic or inflammatory mechanisms, an increase in pressure can occur within this structure which can cause nerve damage. The pathology most frequently arises with nocturnal symptoms, characterized by paraesthesia and pain in the hand, with possible irradiation to the forearm and arm. Over time, these symptoms also appear during the day, often following prolonged use of the hand.
In the most severe cases, there is a loss of sensation and strength in the hand. Although there are no certain data in this regard, it is probable that a possible increase in cases is recorded in specific populations of individuals, for example in older subjects or in those suffering from certain rare diseases. It is likely that the prolonged use of devices such as smartphones may predispose to carpal tunnel syndrome, as demonstrated in some recent studies on small populations.
Covid can also contribute to the onset of this syndrome, Padua underlines: two clinical cases were described in Medical Hypotheses by a group of the Universities of Modena and Reggio Emilia, probably following an inflammatory reaction of the cartilage triggered by the virus, with consequent compression of the nerve at the level of the wrist. (HANDLE).
breaking latest news © Copyright ANSA
