Corticosteroids can be injected directly into inflamed tendons and bursa. Because the drug is delivered directly to the site, it can produce dramatically quick and significant reductions in swelling, often within forty-eight hours. Some patients initially feel worse, but most feel better quickly. Success depends primarily on accurate location of the damaged tissue. What is most difficult is deciding when surgery must done.
Many hand surgeons recommend carpal tunnel release surgery without hesitation.
As operations go, it is simple, the risks of complications are small, and the chances of success are good. There is some concern that the long term results of carpal tunnel surgery may be less than glowing, however. The objective of carpal tunnel surgery, or carpal tunnel release, is to sever the carpal ligament , a tough connective tissue that crosses the wrist at the base of the hand. The primary purpose of the ligament is to hold in place the tendons that pass through the wrist's carpal tunnel along with the median nerve. The traditional surgical method in use for more than four decades is known an open carpal tunnel surgery .