Tunnel syndromes form a separate group of tunnel neuropathies, which are a whole complex of trophic, sensory and motor disorders resulting from compression in the channels of peripheral nerves.
Tunnel syndromes and their causes:
• Congenital anomalies, expressed in the narrowness of the channel;
• Injuries;
• Frequent repetition of stereotyped movements;• Concomitant diseases (rheumatoid arthritis, chronic renal failure, amyloidosis, diabetes mellitus, hypothyroidism and others).
Despite the fact that tunnel syndromes can occur in different places and for different reasons, there is a general list of symptoms characteristic of this group of diseases:
• Shooting and pecking pains;
• numbness;
• tingling sensation when moving;
• Limited movement;
• weakness of certain muscle groups;
• malnutrition.
The doctor examines the clinical picture of the disease, ultrasound and electroneuromyography are performed.
Tunnel syndromes and their types
Select twomain types of tunnel syndromes:
• Upper limb syndromes (radial and axillary neuropathies, carpal and cubital tunnel syndromes);
• lower limb syndromes (neuropathy of the femur, external cutaneous, piriformis syndrome).
Each of these pathologies has its own specific features and can bring a lot of trouble to a person.
Carpal tunnel syndrome (carpal tunnel syndrome)
In recent years, more and more people are faced with manifestations of carpal tunnel syndrome. This is due to the fact that people, for one reason or another, spend too much time working with electronic devices: computers, tablets, mobile phones.
The cause of this type of syndrome is compression of the median nerve by the carpal ligament. Most often, this disease affects musicians (pianists, violinists, cellists) and people whose work involves stress on the hands and frequent repetition of flexion and extension movements (programmers, builders). and the thumb, pain, including night pain, the transition of the pain syndrome further along the arm (up to the elbow joint). Decreased sensitivity of the first three fingers to touch and temperature, muscle weakness.
Tunnel syndrome: treatment
In the treatment of carpal tunnel syndrome, both surgical (nerve excision) and conservative methods of treatment (physiotherapy, steroids, exercise therapy, acupuncture, limb fixation, vitamin therapy) are equally successfully used. The recommendations of the doctor will largely depend on the stage of the disease. However, before proceeding with the treatment of the disease, you need to find the cause due to which it manifested itself. When it is a local or general disease, it would be more appropriate to conduct additional examinations and therapy for the underlying ailment. It is possible that then the syndrome will pass along with the disease that provoked it.
