Frequent exposure to vibration
Vibration is also a significant risk factor, even if your hands are not moving. In most cases, hand-arm vibration at work comes from hand power tools used in heavy steel fabrication, construction sites, and similar workplaces. Vibration causes microtrauma and inflammation in the carpal tunnel, which thickens the tissues and reduces the carpal tunnel’s available space.
- Trauma and direct damage to the carpal tunnel: Direct trauma can also be a reason for a reduced space in the carpal tunnel, especially in people who endured fractures in the wrist area. Deformity in this structure can lead to the rapid development of carpal tunnel syndrome.
- Menopause and pregnancy: It is known that some women experience carpal tunnel syndrome during pregnancy. Others start experiencing the same problem after menopause. In each case, there is a hormonal factor involved, and it is hypothesized that estrogen levels protect the median nerve from compression. Lower levels of estrogen may speed up the development of carpal tunnel syndrome. Another cause can be a change in their blood circulation that favors liquid retention and edema in the wrist area during pregnancy. Under the proper environmental conditions, it may favor carpal tunnel syndrome and cause compression in the structures.
- Obesity: According to research, people with obesity are twice as likely to suffer from carpal tunnel syndrome as the rest of the population. One of the reasons is that obesity leads to systemic inflammation because fat cells create inflammatory substances called cytokines. Such higher inflammation levels affect small structures throughout the body, especially the carpal tunnel, reducing the space and causing edema. With a narrow carpal tunnel, the risk of suffering from this disease goes up.
- Rheumatic diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and lupus: Rheumatic diseases are very complex, and they are not only joint problems. They also involve the nerves and blood vessels. These diseases have in common circulatory issues, joint problems, and nerve problems. Thus, even if there is no mechanical reduction of the carpal tunnel, the same signs and symptoms start to appear in these patients.
- Metabolic diseases such as hypothyroidism and diabetes: Different metabolic diseases may also become a risk factor of carpal tunnel syndrome, especially hypothyroidism and diabetes. In hypothyroidism, there are circulatory problems, and they cause a predisposition to fluid retention and higher pressure in the carpal tunnel. In diabetes, the association is more elusive, but it appears that diabetic neuropathy has something to do. Their nerves are affected by the uncontrolled disease, and the risk of carpal tunnel syndrome is higher.
- Tumors in the wrist or near the carpal tunnel: There are many causes of external obstruction of the carpal tunnel, ultimately triggering the disease. If there’s a tumor in the carpal tunnel or near the wrist, it would likely give out the same signs and symptoms as carpal tunnel syndrome.