The symptoms of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS) are tightness, discomfort, stiffness and pain located on the front side of the hands and wrists. Individuals will likely experience tingling, numbness or paresthesia (pins & needles) affecting the thumb, index, middle and half of the ring finger. Loss of strength in the hands along with pain, aching, swelling, and diminished coordination of the injured areas is also very common. Many people mention the need to massage their hands, wrists and arms. Symptoms will vary from person to person as they can experience all of the symptoms, or just one. If someone experiences symptoms other than what has been outlined above, they may not be due to CTS and it is important to recognize the difference. We will take a moment to reveal the difference between CTS symptoms and other repetitive injury symptoms affecting the upper extremity.

Many times patients with symptoms only within the pinky and index finger are told they have CTS and are treated for CTS. The treatment doesn't help and the patient is left disappointed, confused and sadly enough they are often led into surgery for CTS, which will not work either. If you have carpal tunnel syndrome, only the thumb and first three fingers past the thumb will show signs of an injury. When your pinky and/or ring finger is tingling or numb it is something other than carpal tunnel.

The nerve that runs through the carpal tunnel is called the Median nerve. This nerve runs to the thumb, pointer, middle and index fingers. The nerve that affects the one half of the ring finger and the entire pinky finger is called the Ulnar nerve. The Ulnar nerve does not run through the carpal tunnel, however it does run through another smaller passage within the wrist called the Guyon's Canal. If the Ulnar nerve is being impinged, your pinky and one-half of the ring fingers will show the same symptoms of carpal tunnel however, as mentioned already, it is a completely different injury, not to be confused with carpal tunnel.

Many people misdiagnose symptoms involving whole hand pain and numbness as carpal tunnel syndrome, when in fact it can be a number of different repetitive injuries all occurring at once. When the whole hand experiences symptoms, such as numbness, there may be an impingement of the Brachial Plexus at the shoulder, clavicle and upper chest junction causing the symptoms. The most common upper extremity disorder causing whole-hand numbness is called Thoracic Outlet Syndrome. The easiest test for Thoracic Outlet Syndrome is to hold both arms straight out in front. If the hand(s) being tested become numb within 60-seconds, a physician should check for Thoracic Outlet Syndrome or other impingements within the area of the shoulders, pectoral, clavicle and anterior cervical spine.

Nerve impingements at the elbow and / or wrist can also cause whole hand pain and numbness. The Ulnar and Median nerves run from the cervical spine down the arm(s), through the elbow junction and directly into the tips of the fingers. Both nerves would need to be impinged in order to initiate symptoms in all the fingers. The consulting doctor should be able to run a few tests and ask several questions to determine exactly how, where and which nerves are being impinged. In a case such as this, there are far too many possibilities to self-diagnose and a professional diagnosis is extremely important.

Be sure to consult a physician before beginning any type of conservative and non-conservative treatment.