Dr. Farshchian: Cell Therapy is Now Being Used for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome at the Center for Regenerative Medicine

"Cell therapy is now being used for carpal tunnel syndrome at the Center for Regenerative Medicine." According to Dr. Farshchian.

(PRWEB) December 11, 2012

"Current studies seem to be very impressive with use of regenerative medicine in orthopedic problems," A.J. Farshchian MD From the Center for Regenerative Medicine said earlier in a discussion on arthritis and sports injuries.

Sports injuries need an adequate blood supply and cellular migration. Platelet-derived growth factors are critically involved in this process. These cells allow the body to take advantage of the normal healing pathways at a greatly accelerated rate. During the healing process, the body rushes many cells and cell-types to the injected area in order to accelerate the healing process. These cells perform many functions, including release of growth factors (GF) into the diseased or arthritic and injured sites.

Carpal tunnel syndrome occurs when the median nerve, which runs from the forearm into the hand, becomes pressed or squeezed at the wrist. The median nerve controls sensations to the palm side of the thumb and fingers except for the fifth digit or also known as little finger. The median nerve also carries impulses to some small muscles in the hand that allow the fingers to move. The carpal tunnel is a narrow, rigid passageway of ligament and bones at the base of the hand which contains the median nerve.

Sports injuries need an adequate blood supply and cellular migration. Platelet-derived growth factors are critically involved in this process. These cells allow the body to take advantage of the normal healing pathways at a greatly accelerated rate. During the healing process, the body rushes many cells and cell-types to the injected area in order to accelerate the healing process. These cells perform many functions, including release of growth factors (GF) into the diseased or arthritic and injured sites.

Sometimes thickening from irritated tendons or other swelling narrows the tunnel and causes the median nerve to be compressed. The result may be pain, weakness, or numbness in the hand and wrist, radiating up the arm. Although painful sensations may indicate other conditions, carpal tunnel syndrome is the most common and widely known of the entrapment neuropathies in which the body's peripheral nerves are compressed or traumatized. Symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome starts gradually, with frequent burning, tingling, or itching numbness in the palm of the hand and the fingers, especially the thumb and the index and middle fingers. Some carpal tunnel sufferers say their fingers feel useless and swollen, even though little or no swelling is apparent.

The symptoms often first appear in one or both hands during the night, since many people sleep with flexed wrists. A very common symptom is the patient may wake up from sleep, feeling the need to "shake out" the hand or wrist. As symptoms worsen, people might feel tingling during the day. Decreased grip strength may make it difficult to form a fist, grasp small objects, or perform other manual tasks. In chronic and/or untreated cases, the muscles at the base of the thumb may waste away. Some people are unable to tell between hot and cold by touch.

Carpal tunnel syndrome is often the result of a combination of factors that increase pressure on the median nerve and tendons in the carpal tunnel, rather than a problem with the nerve itself. There may be a genetic factor since the carpal tunnel is simply smaller in some people than in others. Other contributing factors include trauma or injury to the wrist that cause swelling, such as sprain or fracture, mechanical problems in the wrist joint, fluid retention during pregnancy or menopause, work stress, repeated use of vibrating hand tools rare causes such as over activity of the pituitary gland; hypothyroidism; rheumatoid arthritis; or the development of a cyst or tumor in the canal are possible as well. There is little clinical data to prove whether repetitive and forceful movements of the hand and wrist during work or leisure activities can cause carpal tunnel syndrome.

Repeated motions performed in the course of normal work or other daily activities can result in repetitive motion disorders such as bursitis and tendonitis. Women are three times more likely than men to develop carpal tunnel syndrome, perhaps because the carpal tunnel itself may be smaller in women than in men. The dominant hand is usually affected first and produces the most severe pain. Persons with diabetes or other metabolic disorders that directly affect the body's nerves and make them more susceptible to compression are also at high risk. Carpal tunnel syndrome usually occurs only in adults.

See the original post:
Dr. Farshchian: Cell Therapy is Now Being Used for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome at the Center for Regenerative Medicine