Ulcerative Colitis and Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

Have you ever wondered if ulcerative colitis can affect teenagers or whether surgery was absolutely necessary for carpal tunnel syndrome? The following article outlines some interesting information on teen ulcerative colitis and carpal tunnel syndrome in the form of Doctor Paul G. Donohue, M.D., answering questions from concerned readers.

The first question comes from a grandmother curious about her sixteen year old grandson’s diagnosis of ulcerative colitis. She would like more information on whether ulcerative colitis is common for teenagers, as well as whether or not this will affect his life expectancy and growth rate. Dr. Donohue explains the signs and statistics of ulcerative colitis, along with non-surgical medicines and surgical procedures that can be helpful for those experiencing the illness.

The second question comes from a patient who has been diagnosed with carpal tunnel syndrome and is curious as to whether her doctor’s recommendation for surgery is absolutely needed if her pain is not severe. In this instance, Dr. Donohue explains nerve conduction velocity and gives an education view of carpal tunnel syndrome.

Read this informative article to find out Dr. Donohue’s edifying answers in relation to these common medical questions.

Ulcerative colitis is no respecter of age









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Carpal Tunnel Treatment

There is no solid consensus on the best carpal tunnel syndrome treatment techniques. Treatment can even be called conflicting and controversial, but a new study shows that surgical decompression seems to offer 19 percent to 27 percent more relief than non-surgical treatments, especially splinting. The study was led by Renato J. Verdugo, M.D. from the Universidad de Chile and was published in a Cochrane Review.

Carpal Tunnel syndrome happens when the median nerve is compressed at the wrist. Carpal tunnel causes muscle weakness, pain, tingling and can be caused by genetics, trauma, pregnancy and some work-related repetitive tasks, though work-related carpal tunnel is still controversial with ongoing debate.

To find out more about the effectiveness of carpal tunnel syndrome treatments, Dr. Verdugo and colleagues found all the randomized trials they could find on surgical and non-surgical treatments and compared the studies with follow-ups from 3 months to one year. This pooled estimate does not overlook that it still may be different for each patient, depending on occupation, severity of the case of carpal tunnel, age, and degree of symptoms. Although this study provided some results, more research is needed to find out whether surgical decompression is best for those with only mild symptoms.

The researchers found that:

* Surgical decompression showed clinical improvement.

* Splinting was the less effective non-surgical treatment.

* Many patients who received non-surgical treatment went on to need surgery.

* Only a few who had surgical treatment needed reoperation later.

* Those treated initially with surgery had many discomforts, such as wrist discomfort and wound hematoma.

In the end, the researchers decided that surgical decompression was definitely superior over splinting for clinical improvement, which involves improvement in the quality of life, and at least a 50 percent reduction in numbness, muscle weakness, pain and tingling sensations. Unfortunately, there are still adverse effects.

In addition, there were conflicting results when comparing surgical decompression to steroid injection. There was definitely no clear evidence that surgical decompression is superior to steroid injection. More research will not only be needed for the subgroups (age, occupation, severity of the case of carpal tunnel, degree of symptoms, etc.) but more research will be needed to decide if steroid injection works just as well as surgical decompression.






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