Nerve Conditions

• Numbness or tingling: Patients often experience these sensations in the thumb, index, middle, and ring fingers. This can be intermittent and affect patients during hand use or at night, or become constant.

• Weakness: You might experience weakness in your hand and drop objects due to a lack of thumb strength or inability to feel objects.

• Pain: Some patients report pain in their hand, wrist or arm, especially when using the hand or wrist in certain positions.

At The Hand and Wrist Clinic, we offer a range of treatments tailored to the severity and progression of your Carpal Tunnel Syndrome:

Non-surgical treatments: These may include wrist splinting, specialist hand therapy exercises, anti-inflammatory medications and corticosteroid injections.

Surgery: In cases where non-surgical treatments do not provide relief, or if there is significant nerve damage, surgical intervention may be necessary. The surgery, usually using the WALANT technique, aims to relieve pressure on the median nerve to allow it to recover.

• Numbness or tingling: Often affecting the ring and little fingers, especially when the elbow is bent.

• Elbow pain: Discomfort or aching on the inside of the elbow.

• Weak grip: Difficulty with tasks requiring fine motor skills, such as doing up buttons, and a tendency to drop things.

• Muscle wasting: In severe cases, there can be a loss of muscle bulk in the hand.

• Conservative management: Including elbow pads, wrist splints worn at night to prevent elbow flexion, and anti-inflammatory medications.

• Nerve gliding exercises: To help the ulnar nerve slide through the cubital tunnel more easily.

• Surgery: If symptoms are severe, or do not improve with conservative treatment, surgical options such as ulnar nerve release or ulnar nerve transposition may be recommended, usually using the WALANT technique.

• Forearm pain: Discomfort or aching in the forearm which may worsen with repetitive arm or hand use.

• Numbness or tingling: Sensations in the hand or fingers, typically affecting the thumb, index, middle and ring fingers.

• Weakness: Difficulty with tasks requiring the use of the front of the forearm including turning the palm up or flexing the wrist.

• Muscle atrophy: In chronic cases there may be a noticeable decrease in muscle mass on the affected side.

• Activity modification: Avoiding or altering activities that exacerbate symptoms.

• Specialist hand therapy: Exercises to stretch and strengthen the forearm and reduce pressure on the median nerve.

• Splinting: Immobilization of the arm or wrist to alleviate nerve compression.

• Surgical intervention: If conservative treatments are ineffective, surgical release of the lacertus fibrosus may be necessary to relieve pressure on the median nerve.

• Forearm pain: Pain or tenderness in the forearm, especially with activities that involve pronation (turning the forearm so the palm faces down).

• Numbness or tingling: Typically in the thumb, index, middle, and part of the ring fingers, similar to carpal tunnel syndrome.

• Muscle atrophy: In severe or long-standing cases, there may be muscle wasting in the median nerve distribution of the hand.

• Weakness: Difficulty with tasks that require gripping or pinching and a possible loss of dexterity in the hand.

• Conservative management: Rest, activity modification, and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) to reduce inflammation.

• Physical therapy: Stretching and strengthening exercises to relieve pressure on the median nerve.

• Splinting: To immobilize the forearm and wrist, allowing the nerve to rest and heal.

• Surgical intervention: If symptoms persist despite conservative measures, surgery may be necessary to release the muscle and relieve pressure on the median nerve.

• Weakness or paralysis: Difficulty or inability to extend the wrist and fingers (wrist drop).

• Numbness or tingling: Altered sensation or loss of feeling in the back of the hand or forearm.

• Difficulty with hand tasks: Problems with tasks that require extending the wrist or fingers, such as opening doors or typing.

• Pain: Some patients may experience pain along the course of the radial nerve.

• Splinting or bracing: To support the wrist and fingers in the proper position while the nerve heals.

• Physical therapy: Exercises and modalities to maintain muscle strength and joint range of motion during recovery.

• Medication: Pain relief and anti-inflammatory medications to manage discomfort.

• Surgery: If the nerve palsy is due to an injury that requires repair, or if there is no improvement with conservative treatment, surgical intervention may be necessary.

• Weakness in the hand: Difficulty or inability to extend the fingers at the metacarpophalangeal joints (knuckles) and the thumb backwards.

• Wrist drop: Inability to extend the wrist, leading to a characteristic “dropped” wrist position.

• Pain: Some patients may experience pain or discomfort in the forearm.

• Conservative management: Rest, splinting and anti-inflammatory medications to reduce inflammation and promote healing.

• Physical therapy: Exercises to maintain muscle tone and prevent joint stiffness while the nerve recovers.

• Surgical intervention: If PIN palsy is caused by an obstruction or injury that does not respond to conservative treatment, surgery may be necessary to decompress the nerve.

• Sharp, burning pain: Often localized to the site of the neuroma and possibly radiating along the nerve path.

• Tingling or numbness: Sensations that may extend into the hand or fingers, depending on the location of the neuroma.

• Sensitivity to touch: Clothing or even a light touch may trigger pain.

• Swelling: A small, tender lump may be palpable at the site of the neuroma.

• Conservative management: Includes padding to protect the neuroma, steroid injections to reduce inflammation, and medication for pain relief.

• Surgical intervention: If conservative treatments are not effective, surgery may be necessary to remove the neuroma or to repair the affected nerve.