Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

Do you experience hand numbness, tingling or weakness of the hand? The effects may be caused by carpal tunnel syndrome or CTS. If the condition is correctly diagnosed the median nerve is the culprit. The median nerve stems from nerves from the neck and is one of five major nerves leaving the brachial plexus located between the base of the neck and the armpit. The median nerve travels down the arm by the bicipital muscle and into the hand through the carpal tunnel. The median nerve supplies feeling and muscle control to the thumb, index, and middle digits. To begin weeding out possible conditions, the troublesome hand must involve the thumb and next two fingers or the median nerve is probably not the culprit. The next thing that must be determined is where in the path of the median nerve is affected. Many with diagnosed with CTS don’t actually have carpal tunnel syndrome but entrapment of the median nerve somewhere else along its path. Imagine getting surgery for carpal tunnel but it doesn’t get better because the entrapment is somewhere else. Sounds tough to believe but it happens more than you think.