What Is Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

Carpal tunnel syndrome can be a painful condition and it affects the hand and wrist.

The actual ‘carpal tunnel’ is a narrow passageway made up of bones and ligaments at the base of your hand by your wrist. This passageway also contains the median nerve and tendons used by the thumb and fingers.

The tendons located in the carpel tunnel connect your muscles to your bones, while the median nerve provides the sensation and feeling to the fingers and hand. Only the fingers served by the median nerve – which are the thumb, the index and middle fingers, and part of the ring finger, are affected when carpal tunnel syndrome is present.

This nerve controls the feeling and action of the fingers and hand. It allows you to feel temperature, pain, numbness, tingling, and also controls sweating of the hand. If one is suffering from carpel tunnel syndrome, the ligaments and tendons in the carpal tunnel become swollen and inflamed.

The swelling from the carpel tunnel syndrome causes the swollen tendons and ligaments to squeeze against the median nerve. This amount and type of pressure on the nerve can have a tendency to injure the hand, causing pain or numbness. In some cases, carpal tunnel syndrome can even be brought on by one's job, especially id it requires lots of repetitive motion.

People suffering from carpel tunnel syndrome can often experience difficulty performing simple tasks such as fastening their buttons, turning a key in the lock or even unscrewing lids from jars and bottles.

The diagnosis of carpal tunnel syndrome is based on a physical examination as well as the symptoms that the patient is experiencing. The doctor may also ask the patient about his occupation and discuss the risks of certain jobs that may contribute to carpal tunnel syndrome. The physician may also discuss the carpal tunnel treatments that are available.

Your doctor may also perform a series of tests to confirm the diagnosis of carpel tunnel syndrome. The tests preformed may include the Tinel, Phalen and electromyography tests.

The Tinel Test involves the doctor gently tapping the median nerve at the wrist and a patient is said to have carpel tunnel syndrome if a tingling sensation is felt. The Phalen Test involves the patient placing the backs of the hands together and bending the wrists for one minute to see if this causes any symptoms. The electromyography tests the nerves and muscles using small electrical pulses and can help to confirm the carpel tunnel syndrome diagnosis.

If you are experiencing symptoms, your doctor will be able to discuss carpel tunnel syndrome tests, diagnosis and treatments with you further.