Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Part 1

Carpal tunnel syndrome affects many individuals in North America. In recent years, the diagnosis of Carpal tunnel has been more frequently made and partly this is related to our lifestyle and work habits. The carpal tunnel is a narrow passageway on the frontal aspect of the wrist. This tunnel protects the major nerve to the hand and the fingers.

In some individual this tunnel can narrow down and compress the nerve. This typically results in numbness, pain and tingling in the middle 3 fingers. Fortunately, today we have excellent treatments for carpal tunnel syndrome which can relieve all the symptoms and restore normal wrist and finger function.

The symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome usually include the following:

tingling or numbness in the middle three fingers. These symptoms may occur while holding a phone or a grocery bag. Many people shake their hands to relieve the symptoms

pain which radiates to the wrist and arm also occurs as the disease progresses. The pain often worsens after repetitive use

weakness of the hands and a tendency to drop objects occurs as the disease worsens

when the disease is most advanced, most individuals will have atrophy of the muscles in the hand and continued numbness in the middle 3 fingers