Is it normal to have numbness after carpal tunnel surgery

Topic Contents Your Recovery How can you care for yourself at home? When should you call for help? Where can you learn more? Top of the page. Your Recovery Carpal tunnel reduces the pressure on a nerve in the wrist. How can you care for yourself at home?

Rest when you feel tired. Getting enough sleep will help you recover. Try to walk each day. Start by walking a little more than you did the day before. Bit by bit, increase the amount you walk. For up to 2 weeks after surgery, avoid lifting things heavier than 0. This includes doing repeated arm or hand movements, such as typing or using a computer mouse, washing windows, vacuuming, or chopping food.

Do not use power tools, and avoid activities that cause vibration. You may do heavier tasks about 4 weeks after surgery.

These include vacuuming, mowing the lawn, and gardening. You may shower 24 to 48 hours after surgery, if your doctor okays it.

Keep your bandage dry by taping a sheet of plastic to cover it. If you have a splint, keep it dry. Your doctor will tell you if you can remove it when you shower. Be careful not to put the splint on too tight. Do not take a bath until the incision heals, or until your doctor tells you it is okay.

You may drive when you are fully able to use your hand. You can eat your normal diet. If your stomach is upset, try bland, low-fat foods like plain rice, broiled chicken, toast, and yogurt. Your doctor will tell you if and when you can restart your medicines. He or she will also give you instructions about taking any new medicines. If you take aspirin or some other blood thinner, ask your doctor if and when to start taking it again.

Make sure that you understand exactly what your doctor wants you to do. Take pain medicines exactly as directed. If the doctor gave you a prescription medicine for pain, take it as prescribed. If you are not taking a prescription pain medicine, take an over-the-counter medicine such as acetaminophen Tylenol , ibuprofen Advil, Motrin , or naproxen Aleve. Read and follow all instructions on the label. Do not take two or more pain medicines at the same time unless the doctor told you to.

Many pain medicines have acetaminophen, which is Tylenol. Too much acetaminophen Tylenol can be harmful. If you think your pain medicine is making you sick to your stomach: Take your medicine after meals unless your doctor has told you not to. As with most surgeries, carpal tunnel release is not without its risks.

Your wrist will be made numb and you may be given medicine to make you sleepy and not feel pain called local anesthesia for the procedure. In some cases general anesthesia is used, this when drugs are used to put you into a deep sleep during surgery. Anesthesia poses risks for some people. Other potential risks of a carpal tunnel release surgery include:. The recovery from carpal tunnel surgery takes time — anywhere from several weeks to several months.

If the nerve has been compressed for a long period of time, recovery may take even longer. Recovery involves splinting your wrist and getting physical therapy to strengthen and heal the wrist and hand. There may be other risks, depending on your specific medical condition. Be sure to discuss any concerns with your doctor before the procedure. Carpal tunnel release is usually an outpatient procedure, which means that you can go home the same day as the surgery if all goes well.

There are 2 types of carpal tunnel release surgery. The traditional method is the open release, in which the surgeon cuts open the wrist to do the surgery. The other method is endoscopic carpal tunnel release, in which a thin, flexible tube that contains a camera is put into the wrist through a tiny incision cut.

The camera guides the doctor as the surgery is done with thin tools put into the wrist through another small cut. Once the surgery is done, you'll be monitored for a short time, and then allowed to go home. Only in rare cases or complications is an overnight stay needed for a carpal tunnel release surgery. Your wrist will likely be in a heavy bandage or a splint for 1 to 2 weeks. Doctors usually schedule another appointment to remove the bandage or splint.

During this time, you may be encouraged to move your fingers to help prevent stiffness. You'll probably have pain in your hand and wrist after surgery. It's usually controlled with pain medicines taken by mouth. The surgeon may also have you keep the affected hand elevated while sleeping at night to help decrease swelling.

Once the splint is removed, you will likely begin a physical therapy program. The physical therapist will teach you motion exercises to improve the movement of your wrist and hand. These exercises will speed healing and strengthen the area. Often, we will initially treat these patients with a steroid injection or a splint but, eventually, patients tend to grow tired of wearing a splint or getting steroid injections and often undergo surgery and will get complete relief of their symptoms.

A smaller subset of patients will present with diminished sensation in their fingers in addition to the painful tingling.

These patients also tend to be very appreciative of their postop relief. The tingling tends to go away immediately, while the numbness does tend to slowly resolve. Though they still have numbness in their fingers, their function is much improved because the tingling and pain is gone and typically the numbness also resolves, though it can take up to months postoperatively. There is also a small subset of patients who do not seem to notice any symptoms until they get fairly profound numbness in their hands.

Often these patients do not have much pain, but the loss of sensation is very annoying and disruptive because they have a hard time manipulating small objects. The surgical result in these patients is often not as instantly gratifying. Unfortunately, there is also another small group of patients that do not get complete relief of their symptoms.