Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

A wide spread yet misunderstood medical condition yet misunderstood medical condition

The media has branded this condition as an occupational disease because of workers linking pain in their hands to repetitive activities, such as typing or assembly line work. Despite popular opinion, this condition is not caused by repetitive activity, although repetitive activity, such as typing, can aggravate it. Please read on to learn about carpal tunnel syndrome symptoms and treatment.

What is Carpal tunnel syndrome?

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome simply means that there is a compression of the median nerve in the hand. The roof of this tunnel is a structure called the transverse carpal ligament.

Besides the median nerve, there are tendons which flex the fingers and thumb which run through the canal. When the lining around these tendons is inflamed, there is less space for the nerve, and it becomes compressed; this is easiest to think of as a pinched nerve. This compression of the median nerve leads to the symptoms of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.

The symptoms most often reported with Carpal Tunnel Syndrome are numbness and tingling in the hand, which often begins at night. There may also be pain and weakness in the hand, particularly in the thumb. If allowed to progress for many years untreated, this could lead to atrophy of the muscles at the base of the thumb.