Carpal Tunnel Syndrome - An Overview of the Causes and Symptoms

by Brooke Hayles

Carpal tunnel syndrome is a highly painful condition which is caused as a result of the inflexibility of a particular chief nerve in the wrist. This condition occurs when the central nerve, which extends from the forearm to the hand, is highly stressed or compressed at the wrist.

Cause

Carpal tunnel syndrome can happen during daily activities because of the excessive pressure applied on the wrist nerves while performing lifting or similar types of stress activities. This results in pain, numbness, stiffness or itching in various parts of the hand.

This syndrome is usually associated with hard physical stress and is considered a work-related hazard. The best way to avoid this problem is to reduce or avoid the activities that would put excessive pressure on the hand and fingers.

Symptoms

Symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome are gradual and would start with soreness, stiffness or deadness in the wrist and other parts of hand. There can be severe pain right from shoulder to finger tip.

Later when the problem is at a severe stage, one may feel itching in the hand, pain and reduced gripping capability. The person may even find it hard to shape the fist, grab or carry light objects, and may find difficulty in carrying out physical tasks involving hand operations.

Unfortunately, no one is sure why this problem occurs. It is found in certain people because of an innate predilection - that is when the carpal tunnel in the body is not normal and is comparatively smaller or weak. However, the threat of carpal tunnel syndrome is very common in people who perform assemblage line jobs that involve heavy hand movement.

The bones in the human wrist are typically arranged in an uneven manner, in the form of a semi-circle. A tough ligament, known as the carpal ligament, builds a kind of roof above these bones. This forms a passage called the carpal tunnel. The median nerve, as well as the tendons that help the bending of the fingers and wrist, passes along this tunnel. The median nerve is one of two nerves that gives the hand the feeling ability. This nerve also controls some of the thumb muscles.