Carpal Tunnel

Treating Hand, Wrist, & Forearm Pain

Do you spend your days using a computer, sorting mail, or assembling small parts? Do you experience numbness in your hands at night or during certain activities? You may be at risk for, or already have, carpal tunnel syndrome.

What Is Carpal Tunnel Syndrome?

Carpal tunnel syndrome is a nerve compression syndrome. Your carpal tunnel is a narrow passageway of ligament and bone that goes from your forearm to your hand. Your median nerve as well as nine tendons that control your fingers exist in this passageway. If your tendons become thickened or swell, your carpal tunnel can become crowded, leading to pressure on your median nerve. Your median nerve travels through your wrist from your forearm to your hand. Squeezing or crowding of your median nerve leads to uncomfortable symptoms:

Numbness
Tingling (paresthesias)
Pain in the hands

Any of these symptoms can be bad enough to wake you from sleep.

What Are the Causes of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome?

Carpel tunnel syndrome is incredibly common. The most common cause of carpal tunnel appears to be heredity; some people simply have smaller carpal tunnels and thus have a higher chance of developing carpal tunnel syndrome. A risk factor is anything that increases your chances of developing a condition or disease. There are several risk factors may contribute to carpal tunnel:

Having a smaller carpal tunnel than normal
Suffering a wrist sprain or fracture that causes swelling
Having an overactive pituitary gland
Having thyroid disorders
Living with rheumatoid arthritis
Having diabetes
Repeatedly using vibrating tools
Putting stress on your wrist at work
Conditions which result in swelling such as pregnancy
Having a cyst or tumor in your carpal tunnel passageway

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What Are the Symptoms of Carpal Tunnel?

Symptoms of carpal tunnel come on slowly and can be in one or both hands. Other symptoms include pain in your wrist and forearm; weakness and loss of movement in your hand; numbness in your fingers (except the little and ring fingers); tingling in your fingers when your wrist is tapped; and decreased grip strength.

To determine if you have carpal tunnel and what your treatment options are, please schedule an appointment with one of our plastic and reconstructive surgery specialists.

How is Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Diagnosed?

Carpal tunnel syndrome is diagnosed with a physical exam. Hand surgeons sometimes require additional tests to determine the severity of the nerve injury.

The most common test is called a nerve conduction study. This test is often paired with electromyography or EMG. The nerve conduction study uses gentle electrical stimulation to activate your nerves. The study provides information about the speed of your nerve and the number of nerve fibers or axons present.

An EMG uses a needle electrode to give information about the muscle and whether the nerve to that muscle has suffered an injury. When used together, these two methods provide information about the diagnosis, severity and nature of a nerve or muscle problem leading to weakness or numbness.

In some cases, additional imaging tests like an MRI or US can sometimes add information, but they are not usually part of diagnosing carpal tunnel syndrome.