Can Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Cause Arthritis?

With Carpal Tunnel and Wrist Tendonitis being such a prevalent issue that involves various pains and symptoms in the wrist area, one can start to wonder if there is any connection to the development, onset, and progression of Arthritis.

The dynamic that causes Carpal Tunnel Symptoms can  cause Arthritis.

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome can cause Arthritis.

How does it do that? First we must look at the Carpal Tunnel Dynamic.

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is the end result of an ever increasing Pain Causing Dynamic.

We use our hands on a daily basis, and every time we contract a muscle, that muscle retains a tiny bit of that contraction. So we slowly get tighter and tighter. And we stay tighter and tighter, even when we sleep. This has our structures get less and less circulation, less new blood and nutrition in, and less waste product out. This becomes an irritation.

Also, or connective tissue starts to slowly shrink wrap, compressing our structures into an increasingly immobile state. Out body compensates as long as it can, but eventually starts to lose the battle, and that's when we start to feel pain. The factor we need to pay attention to in a context of getting or avoiding Arthritis, is the part of the dynamic where muscles get tight, and stay tight.

When a muscle is tight, the tendons that connect muscle to bone get pulled on. So whatever the tendon connects to gets pulled on.  So if your forearm muscles connect to the forearm, and the hand. If your forearm muscles are tight, they pull your hand bones into your forearm bones. This compresses your wrist joint(s).

Because muscles get tight and stay tight, even when you sleep your wrist and/or your finger joints are getting compressed. When you are using your hands during the day, every time you move your hands and fingers, those joints grind on each other.

The tighter your muscles, the more pressure the bones grind on each other with.

Ideally joints glide smoothly. If the bones are compressed, then they are grinding instead of gliding. This irritates and eventually causes wear and tear damage to the inside lining of the joint. This leads to Arthritis.

Having said that, once arthritis sets into the joint, you may or may not be able to heal. But it's safe to say, if you don't loosen the muscles and connective tissue and turn off the Inflammation process, it will continue to get worse. And even if it's not possible to heal the damage that's already there (I believe that it is), you can greatly reduce your Arthritis pain and symptoms.