Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Treatment

Usually, the symptoms first are felt in both or one hand at nighttime with the dominant hand typically affected first with the harshest symptoms. Symptoms begin gradually and include:

• Frequent tingling or numbness of the fingers, most often the index, middle finger and thumb.
• Sometimes waking up with the feeling to “shake out” the wrist or hand.
• Tingling during certain activities like driving, talking on the phone, or reading a book.
• Feeling a loss of strength in your hand making it harder to do small tasks or grasp an object.
• Some severe cases include not being able to detect hot or cold items with your hands

Diagnosing and treating CTS is vital to prevent permanent damage of the median nerve.

Your doctor can help rule out other conditions that mimic CTS. Each finger should be examined for sensitivity and the muscles near the bottom of the hand should be tested for signs of atrophy and for strength.  Other diagnostic testing may include:

• The Tinel test where the physician presses or taps on the median nerve to see if there is tingling in the fingers or if a shock-type sensation happens.
• The Phalen test is having the person hold their arms upright while pointing their fingers down and holding the backs of the hands together to see if there is any numbness or tingling.
• Your physician may also test you by having you do movements that instigate symptoms.
• An electrodiagnostic test can help confirm a CTS diagnosis. Electrodes are arranged on the wrist and hand with small electric shocks applied while the speed of the transmitted nerve impulses are measured.
• An electromyography test involves a find needle inserted in the muscle while the electrical activity is seen on a screen to ascertain any level of damage to the median nerve.

• Also, an ultrasound can detect an unusual size of the median nerve.