Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

/ Embody Health Centre/
A person's hand using a mouse on their desk

Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is a condition that causes pain and/or numbness and tingling in the wrist and hand. This syndrome is named after the area it affects. The carpal tunnel is a tunnel-like structure in the wrist where the wrist flexor tendons and the median nerve travel through. The bottom of this tunnel is bordered by the carpal bones, and the top is bordered by the transverse carpal ligament. For most people, this tunnel is roughly an inch wide and even shorter in height. Since there are many structures in this little tunnel, a small amount of irritation in the area can cause noticeable symptoms.

If the carpal tunnel is irritated, inflammation may occur around the tendons, causing the median nerve that lies inside the tunnel to get compressed and may have reduced blood flow. When this happens, the cardinal symptoms of CTS appear.

Symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome:

  • Numbness and/or tingling in the thumb, index, and middle fingers. This occurs due to the median nerve innervating these three fingers and the corresponding palm, while different nerves innervate the other areas of the hand.

  • Weakness and clumsiness of the hand, and as such, may lead to dropping things more frequently or difficulty with fine motor tasks like buttoning a shirt.

  • Symptoms may increase at night as people tend to sleep with their wrists in a bent position.

In most cases, the symptoms come on gradually with no specific incident. Occupations that perform repetitive hand and wrist motions, as well as putting the hand/wrist in end-range positions for prolonged periods, increases the risk of carpal tunnel syndrome. In general, older individuals and females are at higher risk, as well as pregnant women due to swelling that occurs.

Since CTS is caused by compression on the median nerve, the best way to reduce the pain and numbness is to decrease pressure on the wrist. This can include making ergonomic changes to unload the wrist, such as using a wrist cushion while typing, and/or a specialized carpal tunnel brace, and doing exercises to release the nerve.

If you are experiencing numbness or tingling in your hand, it is important to get treatment as reduced blood and compression on the nerve can increase over time without proper treatment. Physiotherapists can make recommendations for braces and ergonomic changes, as well as provide exercises to release the nerve and stretch the surrounding musculature, all of which can help decrease the compression in the carpal tunnel.

If you have any questions about carpal tunnel syndrome, or if you would like to book an appointment with one of our practitioners, click here.