For 35-year-old Katie Meyer, mornings used to begin with a familiar and unwelcome sensation. She woke up with extremely stiff, swollen, and painful hands. She chalked it up to early signs of arthritis but ended up with an entirely different diagnosis.
As someone who spends her days coordinating surgical schedules and writing cases on a large whiteboard, these symptoms were more than an inconvenience as a nursing director at a surgical facility. Her hand would cramp, and pain traveled down her arm and elbow. She had to take breaks while writing. Other everyday tasks became increasingly difficult, including crocheting, which she loved to do.
She noticed her first symptom in January 2024.
“I went to use my stapler at work, which is tiny, and I couldn’t staple with it,” Katie said. “I had to use both hands, and my strength was just completely gone.”
Katie works in the operating room with Candice B. Teunis, MD, an orthopedic hand surgeon at UT Physicians Orthopedics at Memorial Hermann | Rockets Sports Medicine Institute – Sugar Land. She asked Teunis what she should do for her arthritis. After a few simple tests, Teunis told Katie her problem wasn’t arthritis. It was carpal tunnel syndrome, a condition caused by compression of the wrist’s median nerve.
“There’s a lot of overlap in the symptoms for arthritis and early carpal tunnel syndrome,” said Teunis, an assistant professor of orthopedic surgery at McGovern Medical School at UTHealth Houston. “If you look up symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis, morning swelling and stiffness are No. 1 on the list.”
Making a diagnosis
Katie initially tried conservative treatments, including nighttime bracing, but they only provided minimal relief. Teunis suggested a steroid injection directly into the carpal tunnel, which would not only help diagnose the condition but might also provide relief.
“The injection is directed into the carpal tunnel, so it reduces the inflammation within the tunnel and only helps if it’s carpal tunnel syndrome,” Teunis said. “If symptoms go away, then it’s coming from inflammation in the carpal tunnel.”
For some patients, this treatment provides long-term relief, but for Katie, the benefits were short-lived. While her symptoms improved drastically in the beginning, the progress only lasted a few months. That meant hand surgery was her next best treatment option.
Navigating the surgical path
Katie needed carpal tunnel surgery on both wrists and opted to do them separately due to a busy workload. Postsurgery driving restrictions would have meant no driving if both wrists were operated on at the same time.
Katie’s first procedure was in November 2024. Teunis performed an endoscopic carpal tunnel release, a minimally invasive procedure that required a small incision near the wrist. During the procedure, a scope with a camera is passed under the ligament that’s compressing the nerve. Teunis used a blade to cut through this ligament, creating more space for the nerve.
“It’s one of the best operations I do,” said Teunis. “The surgery is 99% successful at fixing night symptoms. People will come in having not slept for months, have surgery, and literally sleep better that first night. It’s nothing short of a miracle.”
Katie describes it as the easiest surgery she’s ever had, as far as the actual procedure, recovery from surgery, and recovery.
A swift recovery
“I tell everyone how amazing it was. And of course, I had Dr. Teunis, who’s the best hand surgeon in the business,” Katie said. “She’s just phenomenal — so understanding, calm, collected, professional, and a perfectionist. She never deviates from her standard.”
A few weeks later, Katie had her second carpal tunnel surgery on her other wrist.
One of the remarkable aspects of Katie’s story is her quick recovery. While every patient’s experience is different, Katie returned to her responsibilities at work and her hobbies at home with surprising speed.
“She felt so much better, so fast, and that’s how a lot of patients are,” Teunis said. “They feel a lot better quickly because carpal tunnel can be a miserable pain.”
While patients can usually resume light activities shortly after surgery, full recovery takes time. Teunis said most patients can use their hands for normal daily activities within two weeks, but regaining grip strength typically takes about three months. Activities that put pressure on the palm, such as yoga, pushing up from a chair, or opening tight containers, may be uncomfortable for up to six months.
Life after carpal tunnel surgery
For Katie, the surgery has been transformative. She’s glad she pursued surgical treatment rather than continuing to manage the symptoms. It was a problem that placed limitations on her life, and having surgery fixed that.
Now she can crochet again, as long as she wants, without discomfort. At work, she can write without pain and perform her duties without pain. She can sleep through the night without being awakened by pain and numbness.
“I don’t have any limits. I am back to my normal self,” Katie said. “If I want to do push-ups, I can. I took it for granted before I started having symptoms, and now I’m back without symptoms again.”
Myths and prevention for carpal tunnel syndrome
Many people think computer work is the main cause of carpal tunnel syndrome, but that’s not necessarily true. Teunis said that’s a common misconception. Other contributors include vibration from tools, truck driving, diabetes, inflammatory conditions, and pregnancy or menopause.
“Computer work probably aggravates it because you’re working the tendons a lot that share that tunnel with the nerve and holding your wrist in one position,” Teunis said.
To reduce the risk of carpal tunnel syndrome, Teunis recommends the following measures:
- Maintain good posture and periodically stretch and bend your hands and wrists.
- Take breaks from activities that keep your wrists in fixed positions.
- Manage underlying health conditions like diabetes.
- Correct any vitamin deficiencies, especially of the B vitamins.
If you suspect you may have carpal tunnel syndrome, it’s important to be assessed by a doctor. Left untreated, it can lead to permanent dysfunction.
“It’s worth getting it evaluated because it’s a treatable problem,” Teunis said.
