Carpal Tunnel, Not Carpool Tunnel

I was shadowing the orthopedic surgeon today and we were in clinic.  There were two patients that had carpal tunnel syndrome which is when the nerve that supplies feeling and movement to the hand is compressed.  This causes numbness and/or pain as seen int the picture below.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001469/

This syndrome is caused by inflammation in the wrist that pinches the nerve.  There are some conservative measures such as wearing a  brace and corticosteriod injections, but the most effective method is probably surgery.  The carpal tunnel is the space that the tendons that control your fingers and the nerve pass through. What you can do to relieve the pressure in this area is the carpal transverse ligament will be cut as seen int the photo below.  I did not get to see this procedure and in fact the two people who came in had already addressed the problem.  It was interesting to see the same resolved problem in both patients.  

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001469/