The carpal tunnel is made up of the carpal bones and transverse carpal ligament, it contains the median nerve and nine tendons, the pressure within the carpal tunnel is increased with wrist extension, flexion and finger flexion. It is more common to get it in the dominant hand but 55-65% get it bilaterally.
A sustained or intermittent pressure increase can cause nerve disruption, also any decrease in dimension e.g. inflammation of any of the tendons can cause nerve disruption. There are two common age range for carpal tunnel to affect and that is 30-60 year but this is more common for women and then late 70’s where there is equal incidence between men and women.
Signs and Symptoms
Swelling but not always
Numbness of the thumb, first two fingers and half (thumb side) of the ring finger
Decreased sensation along the median nerve distribution as described above
Weakness of the thenar eminens
Night time symptoms are very common
A splint is usually worn to keep the wrist in neutral.
A Sports Therapist can help with treatments that include ultrasound, taping and rehabilitation that would decrease swelling, nerve sliders to reduce any friction on the nerve and mobility of the nine muscles that have tendons running through the carpal tunnel to reduce any irritation they might be causing.