What is Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS)?

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS) is the name for a group of problems that includes swelling, pain, tingling, and loss of strength in your wrist and hand. Your wrist is made of small bones that form a narrow groove or carpal tunnel. Tendons and a nerve called the median nerve must pass through this tunnel from your forearm into your hand.

The median nerve controls the feelings and sensations in the palm side of your thumb and fingers. Sometimes swelling and irritation of the tendons can put pressure on the wrist nerve causing the symptoms of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. A person’s dominant hand is the one that is usually affected. However, nearly half of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome sufferers have symptoms in both hands.

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome has become more common in the U.S. and is quite costly in terms of time lost from work and expensive medical treatment. The U.S. Department of Labor reported that in 2003 the average number of missed days of work due to Carpal Tunnel Syndrome was 23 days, costing over $2 billion a year. It is thought that about 3.7 percent of the general public in this country suffer from Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.

What are the symptoms of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome?

Typically, Carpal Tunnel Syndrome begins slowly with feelings of burning, tingling, and numbness in the wrist and hand. The areas most affected are the thumb, index and middle fingers. At first, symptoms may happen more often at night. Many Carpal Tunnel Syndrome sufferers do not make the connection between a daytime activity that might be causing the Carpal Tunnel Syndrome and the delayed symptoms.

Also, many people sleep with their wrist bent, which may cause more pain and symptoms at night. As Carpal Tunnel Syndrome gets worse, the tingling may be felt during the daytime too, along with pain moving from the wrist to your arm or down to your fingers. Pain is usually felt more on the palm side of the hand.

Another symptom of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is weakness of the hands that gets worse over time. Some people with Carpal Tunnel Syndrome find it difficult to grasp an object, make a fist, or hold onto something small. The fingers may even feel like they are swollen even though they are not. Over time, this feeling will usually happen more often.

If left untreated, those with Carpal Tunnel Syndrome can have a loss of feeling in some fingers and permanent weakness of the thumb. Thumb muscles can actually waste away over time. Eventually, Carpal Tunnel Syndrome sufferers may have trouble telling the difference between hot and cold temperatures by touch.