Are you experiencing to feel numbness, tingling, and occasional burning pain in your hand. That can be something we call carpal tunnel syndrome. If that indeed is true, don’t feel like you’ve been struck with a bit of bad luck, as carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is an extremely common entrapment neuropathy.
A nerve, called the median nerve, runs from your neck (nerve roots C6-T1) throughout your arm and all the way down into your hand. This nerve can be the reason behind your symptoms.
The median nerve provides both sensory and motor functions to the upper extremity. Compression of the median nerve by the transverse carpal ligament in the carpal tunnel is what typically causes the common symptoms of tingling, numbness, and/or pain in the hand. These symptoms may be constant or intermittent, and pain could also potentially radiate up into the forearm as well.
Listed here are some of the common signs and symptoms individuals with carpal tunnel will typically describe:
• The onset of symptoms is generally gradual, with tingling or numbness in the median nerve distribution
• May notice aggravation of symptoms with gripping activities, but also at night or the early morning
• Improvement in symptoms with shaking or flicking of the hand
• Progressive symptoms include
o More constant numbness and tingling with a burning sensation
o Weakness and atrophy of thenar muscles
What can be challenging is that there are other conditions that can refer pain in our hands; therefore, it is important to receive a proper evaluation from a trained healthcare professional who is well equipped to evaluate orthopedic hand conditions.
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