مقاله تخصصی
Symptoms and treatment of radial tunnel syndrome
3 months ago
616 بازدید
Dr. Mohammad Hossein Delshad
تهرانpain companions
Radial nerve is responsible for many movements of the hand, from rotating the forearm to straightening the wrist and fingers.. Radial tunnel syndrome occurs when the nerve is compressed in the forearm while passing through the radial tunnel, this simple movement is very difficult and painful for this group of people.. What is meant by radial tunnel syndrome?.. The radial nerve is one of three The nerve is in your forearm, which runs along the side of the neck, back of the arm, and through the forearm. The radial nerve is responsible for many arm movements, including rotation of the forearm, wrist, elbow, and finger movements.
When the nerve reaches the elbow, it passes through the radial tunnel, which is a set of muscles.... This condition occurs when the nerve is compressed as it enters the radial tunnel.. Which people are most at risk of developing radial tunnel syndrome?
This condition occurs more often in people between the ages of 30 and 50....It is also more likely to occur in women than men....There are certain factors that put you at risk of developing radial tunnel syndrome, which are as follows:
- Lack of strength and flexibility in the arm and wrist
- Diabetes
- Not warming up before exercise
- underactive thyroid
- tumors or ganglion cysts in the arm
- Swelling in the arm
- Inflammation of the radial nerve
Fortunately, this disease is very rare.
Getting to know the symptoms of radial tunnel syndrome
Probably when you touch your elbow, you will experience pain and tenderness in your elbow area.... The feeling of pain creates annoying conditions in patients and after a while the patient feels tired.
Certain activities can help make symptoms worse, including:
- Activities that require the use of the forearm or wrist.
- Lifting heavy objects
- extending the elbow
- rotation in the forearm
- bending the wrist
Over time, this disease weakens the muscles of the forearm and the overall strength of the wrist, and it will also be difficult for you to hold and lift some things.
In addition, there is a possibility that the pain will worsen during sleep.... Sometimes it can lead to wrist drop, which means you lose the ability to lift your hand from one point to another.
tennis elbow is one of the diseases that causes similar symptoms.
The cause of radial tunnel syndrome
When the radial tunnel and all its structures are inflamed, it puts a lot of pressure on the nerve and eventually leads to such a complication.
In general, there are several different activities that can cause radial syndrome as follows:
### Repetition of certain movements (often at work)
For example, activities such as typing or using a screwdriver are examples of things that increase the likelihood of developing this disease.
### Performs frequent pushing and stretching activities
An example of this is throwing a football or baseball, when you first swing your arm back and then push forward to throw the ball.
Other possible cases:
- a direct and strong blow to the elbow or forearm
- Frequent bending of the wrist
How are radial tunnel signs diagnosed
There is no special test for this disease and therefore it becomes a bit difficult to diagnose this disease.
However, your doctor will sometimes order an X-ray, MRI, or electromyography imaging test to rule out other injuries or other possible conditions.
Read more: Compartment syndrome
Before examining your elbow and forearm, you will be asked about your pain, medical history, and symptoms... Finally, they diagnose this disease in two ways:
### Physical examination
During this examination, you will be asked to rotate your palm with resistance from a downward to upward position... If you feel pain in your forearm, it is probably a sign of radial tunnel syndrome.
Another part of this test is that you have to keep your middle finger straight against the resistance...
If doing this is painful for you, it can be a sign of this disease.
### Electromyography (EMG)
In some cases, you may need to have an electromyogram... This test allows your doctor to see how your muscles and nerves are working.
Electromyography has two parts, one is a nerve conduction study and the other is a needle EMG.... If the results show that the pain is caused by damage to the radial nerve in the radial tunnel, radial tunnel syndrome is diagnosed.
How is this disease treated?
The best treatment is to stop or reduce the vigorous activity that is causing the symptoms.. Try to rest your arms and avoid any movement that causes pain.
Rest and medication are usually successful in reducing symptoms for three to six weeks for most people.. - Using over-the-counter anti-inflammatory drugs
- if neededsteroid injection by a pain specialist to relieve inflammation and pressure on the radial nerve
- Using a wrist or elbow splint to reduce movement and stimulate the radial nerve
You can also consider various physiotherapy exercises to treat this disease.
Is surgery effective for the treatment of radial syndrome?
In the first stage, the pain specialist tries to treat the disease with non-surgical methods, and in most cases, successful results are obtained... The purpose of surgery is to remove pressure from the radial nerve when it passes through the radial tunnel... The surgeon starts this procedure by making an incision just below the outer part of the elbow and inside the forearm.
After moving around the muscle tissue in the radial tunnel, they find exactly where the nerve is under pressure.
The surgeon then cuts the parts of the radial tunnel where the nerve is under pressure, and this process causes the tunnel to expand... After the operation, the incisions are reconnected.
This surgery can be performed on an outpatient basis and there is no need to be hospitalized.. Depending on the discretion of the doctor and the condition of the patient, it is done with local anesthesia and anesthesia.
Does radial tunnel syndrome go away?. If you don't seek treatment solutions for this disease, not only will it not go away, it will get worse... Finally, it will become more difficult to perform some activities over time.
If you don't avoid activities that lead to pain and symptoms, you may end up with chronic pain in your forearm...so you need to get treatment quickly.
