Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS) is a common nerve condition that affects the hand and wrist. It happens when the median nerve — the nerve that runs from your forearm into your palm — becomes compressed inside a narrow passage in the wrist called the carpal tunnel. This pressure can lead to pain, numbness, tingling, and weakness in the hand and fingers.
Many people first notice symptoms during everyday activities such as typing, driving, or holding a phone. If you’re wondering what are the symptoms of carpal tunnel or how to determine carpal tunnel syndrome, early recognition is important. Without proper care, CTS can gradually worsen and interfere with work, sleep, and daily function.
Repetitive hand and wrist use
Wrist injury or inflammation
Medical conditions like diabetes or arthritis
Hormonal changes or pregnancy
Poor wrist posture or ergonomics
Genetic wrist structure
Repetitive work or computer use
Female gender
Obesity
Family history of CTS
Pregnancy or menopause
Chronic health conditions
Smoking
Numbness or tingling in fingers
Wrist or hand pain
Weak grip or hand weakness
Dropping objects
Nighttime discomfort
Tingling or “pins and needles” sensation
Treatments range from conservative treatment to surgery. Our goal is to provide you with the best treatment plan to reduce pain, but these treatments do not change the underlying source of pain. Medical treatments are often used in combination such as: medications, physical therapy programs, and injection therapy.
Treats radiating pain; deposit the medication, typically steroids in the epidural space of the spine.
Targets a specific spinal nerve and deposit medication around the nerve at the point where it exits the intervertebral foramen (bony opening between adjacent vertebrae).
Treat pain stemming from a specific facet joint.
Deposit medication around the medial branches of spinal nerves. The medial branch is a nerve that sends pain signals to the brain from an arthritic facet joint. An injection directed around the medial branch can relieve neck and lower back pain.
Treats pain by lesioning medial branch nerves of the facet joints.
