Health

Grand Prairie Woman Credits New Treatment for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Relief

An innovative procedure may offer a sure-fire way to give relief to people who suffer from carpal tunnel syndrome; a Grand Prairie woman says she's back doing what she loves thanks to the procedure

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An innovative procedure may offer a sure-fire way to give relief to people who suffer from carpal tunnel syndrome.

Carpal tunnel syndrome is a condition that causes numbness, tingling, or weakness in your hand and it happens because of pressure on your median nerve.

The nerve runs the length of your arm, goes through a passage in your wrist called the carpal tunnel and ends in your hand.

Anything that squeezes or irritates the median nerve in the carpal tunnel space may lead to carpal tunnel syndrome.

Many times, there is no single cause of carpal tunnel syndrome.

Patrice Johnson, of Grand Prairie, suffered for years until she underwent the most aggressive treatment for the condition, which was a surgical operation called carpal tunnel release.

"However, it took so long for me to heal with my right hand that I was like, 'Oh, I don't have any more time off work for my left hand," said Johnson.

Luckily, by the time she was ready to do the operation on her left hand, a new option became available.

Dr. Shaun Garff, sports medicine specialist on the medical staff at Methodist Mansfield Medical Center, is one of a handful of North Texas doctors offering an in-office, minimally invasive nonsurgical technique with ultrasound technology.

Through a small incision, the doctor uses ultrasound to guide instruments to the ligament carpal ligament that’s trapping the nerve.

Once there, doctors sever the ligament, relieving pressure inside the wrist.

It's the same procedure that's normally in the operating room, but thanks to ultrasound technology, it can be done without the use of anesthesia and results in little downtime.

"The recovery is phenomenal and very quick, and they're getting relief very, very quickly as well," said Garff.

"Of course, I was making jokes because I've never been awake in a surgery. It's amazing," said Johnson, now no longer crippled by the common painful condition.

"I feel like the old me."

You can read more about the procedure here.

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