Corticosteroids local injections to treat Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

Dear Ask The Doctor: I frequently receive prednisone injections to treat areas of distress related to fibromyalgiaarthritis related to lupus. Now I have carpel tunnel and wonder if prednisone,lidocaine injections is the best tx? I feel too much prednisone may be more harmful than good.

Dear Lorna: Yes, the local steroid injections may be part of the treatment strategy, depending on the case.Carpal tunnel syndrome is a disease of the hand characterized by numbness, tingling, pain, and weakness. The disease typically affects the thumb, index, and middle fingers and is often particularly troublesome at night. A major nerve, specifically the median nerve, travels down the arm and enters the hand through the carpal tunnel, which is located in the central part of the wrist. In people with carpal tunnel syndrome, pressure in the carpal tunnel is higher than in unaffected people, and median nerve irritation occurs. It has many causes, but according to your description, one of the causes is due to pregnancy. The first line of treatment for mild carpal tunnel syndrome is to wear a wrist brace. This has been shown to relieve the symptoms from the carpal tunnel by placing the wrist in a neutral position and reducing the nerve irritation. Splinting is usually tried for a period of 4-6 weeks. Some people wear their splints at night only and others wear their splints both day and night, depending upon when the symptoms are at their worst. If the symptoms do not improve then, local corticosteroid injections may be tried, the las step in the treatment is the surgical option.