What’s Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

Carpal tunnel syndrome occurs when the median nerve compresses when the tissues swell or are inflamed. The median nerve is the yellowy orange line that runs and extends towards the fingers from the forearm through the carpal tunnel, which is a narrow passageway made up of bones and ligaments. The function of the nerve is to provide nerve signals to move the muscles near the thumb and to also provide sensation for the thumb and the first three fingers.

Involved Musculoskeletal SystemOnly the thumb, index, middle, and ring fingers will experience pain or numbness because the median nerve only extends to those four fingers. As you can see in the diagram, the little finger does not have the nerve. Others include the flexor tendons, and carpals. Flexor tendons are the blue tissues in the diagram, which aim to move the fingers.

SymptomsCarpal tunnel develops slowly. At first, you may experience “pins and needles” at night or when you wake up. During the day, you may feel pain or a tingling sensation when you hold an object. As the syndrome progresses, you may notice weakness in your thumb and first two fingers, to the point where you find it difficult to make a fist or grasp objects. The syndrome also causes a feeling of numbness, and some people cannot distinguish between hot and cold.

Now we’re going to watch a video to recap everything we’ve learned so far!