Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

Median nerve dysfunction; Median nerve entrapment

Carpal tunnel syndrome is pressure on the median nerve — the nerve in the wrist that supplies feeling and movement to parts of the hand. It can lead to numbness, tingling, weakness, or muscle damage in the hand and fingers.

Symptoms

• Numbness or tingling in the thumb and next two or three fingers of one or both hands
• Numbness or tingling of the palm of the hand
• Pain extending to the elbow
• Pain in wrist or hand in one or both hands
• Problems with fine finger movements (coordination) in one or both hands
• Wasting away of the muscle under the thumb (in advanced or long-term cases)
• Weak grip or difficulty carrying bags (a common complaint)
• Weakness in one or both hands

Signs and tests

During a physical examination, we may find:

• Numbness in the palm, thumb, index finger, middle finger, and thumb side of the ring finger
• Weak hand grip
• Tapping over the median nerve at the wrist may cause pain to shoot from the wrist to the hand (this is called Tinel’s sign)
• Bending the wrist forward all the way for 60 seconds will usually result in numbness, tingling, or weakness (this is called Phalen’s test)