

If you have answered YES to any of these questions, you should see a healthcare professional for further assessment.

Do I have numbness and tingling of my thumb, index, middle, and half of my ring finger (the half closest to your middle finger)? Does my pinky finger feel normal?.A healthcare professional such as a doctor, occupational therapist, or physical therapist can differentiate your nerve compression location. The difference is a loss of pinch strength, fine motor skills, and clumsiness along with burning and numbness similar to carpal tunnel syndrome. This is known as Lacertus Syndrome, which is commonly misdiagnosed as CTS. The second most common area of compression is in the mid forearm, palm side, where the median nerve travels through the pronator teres muscle. Our nerves travel through small spaces and pierce through muscles, ligaments, and fascia as they travel from our spinal cord to our fingertips. It is possible for the median nerve to be compressed elsewhere other than the carpal tunnel. Is numbness and tingling keeping you up at night? Try this comfortable splint available in our store.Ĭan the Median nerve be compressed somewhere else? Losing strength in your hand especially with pinching tasks (i.e., opening a bag of cereal).Dropping objects frequently or fumbling while retrieving items out of site (such as items in purse or pocket).Dull, sharp or shooting pains into the hand or up the arm.Numbness and tingling or hand pain waking you up at night.Numbness and tingling (pins and needles) of your thumb, index, middle, and half of your ring finger.FACT: Women are three times more likely than men to develop Carpal Tunnel Symptoms.

This can lead to irreversible atrophy, or loss of muscle.Īlthough painful sensations may indicate other conditions, CTS is the most common and widely known of the entrapment neuropathies in which the body’s peripheral nerves are compressed or traumatized. When the nerve is blocked, or compressed, long enough eventually the nerve cannot send signals to the muscles in the hand. If this happens, you may experience pain, weakness, or numbness in the fingers, palm, and wrist.

Sometimes, inflammation and swelling from irritated tendons that pass through the tunnel, can cause the median nerve to become compressed. In other words, the nerve fires signals to those muscles to make them move. It also provides motor function to the small muscles of the thumb and hand. The median nerve provides sensation to the palm side of the thumb, index, middle, and half of the ring fingers NOT the little finger. The carpal tunnel, a narrow passageway of ligament and bones at the base of the hand, houses the median nerve and 9 tendons. What Is Carpal Tunnel Syndrome?Īccording to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), Carpal Tunnel Syndrome occurs when the median nerve, which runs from the forearm into the palm of the hand, becomes compressed (or squeezed) at the wrist. During the day, you find yourself dropping objects out of your hand, fumbling with small items, or have the need to shake your hand to get the feeling back. What you are experiencing could be Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS). You haven’t had a good night sleep in months or maybe even years! You wake up in the middle of the night with a pins and needles feeling in your fingertips.
