Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, which is also called median nerve compression, is a condition that causes numerous symptoms such as: numbness, tingling, or weakness in your hand.

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome occurs because of pressure on your median nerve. The median nerve runs the length of your arm, goes through a passage in your wrist (called the carpal tunnel), and ends in your hand. The median nerve controls the feeling and movement of your thumb and the movement of all your fingers except the pinky.

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Symptoms

Symptoms of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome include:

• Burning, tingling, or itching numbness in your palm and thumb or your index and middle fingers
• Weakness in your hand and trouble holding things
• Shock-like feelings that move into your fingers
• Tingling that moves up into your arm

A person experiencing Carpal Tunnel might first notice that their fingers “fall asleep” and become numb at night. This usually happens because of how you hold your hand while you sleep.

In the morning, you may wake up with numbness and tingling in your hands that may run all the way to your shoulder. During the day, your symptoms may flare up while holding something with your wrist bent, like driving or reading a book.

As carpal tunnel syndrome gets worse, you may have less grip strength because the muscles in your hand shrink and you may have more pain and muscle cramping.

Your median nerve can’t work the way it should because of the irritation or pressure around it which can lead to:

• Slower nerve impulses
• Less feeling in your fingers
• Less strength and coordination, especially the ability to use your thumb to pinch

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Causes

Most of the time people can’t pinpoint where their carpal tunnel syndrome came from, it can be due to:

• Repetitive motions, like typing, or any wrist movements that you do over and over
• Hypothyroidism, obesity, rheumatoid arthritis, and diabetes
• Pregnancy

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Risk Factors

People may have a higher risk of getting carpal tunnel syndrome if:

• You are a woman. Women are three times more likely than men to get Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
• Have a family member with small carpal tunnels
• Have a job in which you make the same motions with your arm, hand, or wrist over and over
• Fracture or dislocate your wrist

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Diagnosis and Tests

Tests to diagnose Carpal Tunnel Syndrome may include:

• Imaging tests: X-rays, ultrasounds, or MRI exams can let your doctor look at your bones and tissues.
• Electromyogram: Your doctor puts a thin electrode into a muscle to measure its electrical activity.
• Nerve conduction studies: Your doctor tapes electrodes to your skin to measure the signals in the nerves of your hand and arm.

After being diagnosed with Carpal Tunnel Syndrome you may be wondering what’s next. Performance Physical Therapy is here to help you with your Carpal Tunnel and the pain that comes along with it. Schedule your free consultation today to learn more how we can help you.