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Carpal Tunnel

Carpal Tunnel

What is Carpal Tunnel Syndrome?

Carpal tunnel is commonly referred to as median nerve compression.  The median nerve is one of the many nerves that make up the brachial plexus.  A group of nerves that run from the C5-C7 vertebral region in the neck, down across the lower neck/upper back/shoulder and into the arm.  The median nerve is the only nerve that goes through the carpal tunnel in the hand.  When damaged or compressed, it will commonly produce symptoms in the thumb, index and middle finger, but sometimes it may feel like your whole hand is effected.

Symptoms of Carpal Tunnel

  • tingling
  • numbness
  • pain in the thumb or hand
  • pins and needles
  • weakness in the hand or forearm
  • burning

Symptoms may travel up into the forearm and bicep, but generally are more prominent in the hand.

What Causes Carpal Tunnel?

  • trauma and damage to the wrist
  • median nerve entrapment
  • brachial plexus damage
  • cervical spinal damage
  • diabetes
  • thyroid dysfunction
  • fluid retention from pregnancy high blood pressure

How long does it take to heal carpal tunnel?

Early diagnosis and treatment offers the best results.   Carpal tunnel recovery ranges from a few weeks to several months.  In general, patients start seeing symptomatic improvement in 4 to 8 weeks or treatment.