Carpal tunnel syndrome and arthritis are similar conditions that can both result from overuse of the wrist and hands.
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What Is Carpal Tunnel Syndrome?
The median nerve passes through this tunnel.
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It begins in the shoulder and is rooted in the upper part of the spine.
This is why the palm of the hand is typically not involved in carpal tunnel syndrome pain.
This includes the first three fingers and a part of the fourth finger closest to the thumb.
Pain can also be at the center of the wrist or even the whole hand.
A Moving Target?
Carpal tunnel syndrome initially begins with pain in both hands in 65% of cases.
However, most healthcare providers encounter continued pain in just one hand or wrist.
Its common for carpal tunnel syndrome to go through periods where the pain gets better and then worse again.
Often, no single cause can be identified.
What Is Arthritis?
Arthritis is a family of conditions that affects the joints, causing pain and inflammation.
Osteoarthritis starts gradually and worsens over time.
Osteoarthritis can also impact joints in the knees, hips, and lower spine.
RA can cause inflammation so widespread and intense that it can interfere with daily activities.
To diagnose this condition, pain and inflammation have to continue for at least six weeks.
RA mainly attacks the joints, usually many joints at once.
This tissue damage can cause long-lasting or chronic pain, unsteadiness, and deformity.
It can be detected by the presence of certain antibodies and inflammatory markers in the blood.
In RA, however, morning stiffness doesnt begin to improve for an hour or longer.
Occasionally, prolonged joint stiffness in the morning is the first symptom of RA.
Can You Tell Which Condition You Have?
Your healthcare provider will perform a few specific tests to pinpoint the problem.
This surgery usually relieves all symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome once the incision is healedabout 10 to 14 days.
Arthritis may also become severe enough to warrant surgery, but the procedure is very different.
RA may also be treated with medications likedisease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs(DMARDs).
Methotrexate is a DMARD commonly used to treat RA.
These medications suppress the immune system to prevent further damage.
Talk to your healthcare provider about your symptoms and what kinds of treatment are appropriate for you.
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UptoDate.Carpal Tunnel Syndrome: Clinical manifestations and diagnosis.
National Institute on Neurological Disorders and Stroke.Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Fact Sheet.
Arthritis Foundation.What is arthritis?.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Rheumatoid Arthritis.
UpToDate.Diagnosis and differential diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis.
Harvard Health Publishing.Explain the painis it osteoarthritis or rheumatoid arthritis?.
Arthritis Foundation.Arthritis, carpal tunnel syndrome or both?.
National Library of Medicine: MedlinePlus.Carpal tunnel release.
