Carpal tunnel syndrome

Carpal tunnel syndrome is one of the most common hand disorders and is due to compression of the median nerve in the wrist.

Its name comes from the focus of the inflammation, the carpal tunnel, i.e. the tunnel in the wrist through which the median nerve passes, which controls sensation on the palmar side, index and middle fingers, and the muscles around the base of the thumb. The tendons that control the flexion of the fingers of the hand also pass through the same tunnel.

Carpal tunnel syndrome occurs when the tissues surrounding these tendons become inflamed and press on the nerve.

The causes are varied and are due to:

heredity: in these cases, a smaller tunnel size is observed due to heredity
age: increased likelihood of occurrence in adults
lifestyle: the continuous use of the hand in specific activities (e.g. computer use) greatly increases the likelihood of this syndrome occurring. It is also characteristic that it is usually called “computer disease”.
medical history: patients with other chronic diseases such as diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis and thyroid diseases have an increased likelihood of developing this syndrome.

Carpal tunnel syndrome

The symptoms of this condition can occur at any time and include:

numbness and pain in the hand,
sensation as if an electric current is passing through the thumb, middle finger and index finger,

pain in the shoulder to the arm,
weakness of the hand to hold things.


Imprint of carpal tunnel syndrome	inflammation of surrounding tendons and tissues as well as compression of the nerve

The proposed treatment, depending on the extent of the problem and the pain felt by the patient, includes:

immobilization of the wrist for a specific period of time using a special splint,
drug treatment using anti-inflammatory and/or injections corticosteroids,
surgery.