Carpal Tunnel Symptoms

Symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome can be mild at first and worsen over time.

At first you’ll notice that your fingers and thumb are experiencing a numb, tingly, itchy, or burning sensation.

Symptoms may start at night when you’re sleeping and can affect either the right, left, or both hands. You may wake up feeling like you need to shake out your wrist to get them feeling normal again.

Carpal tunnel syndrome is usually a progressive condition so as the compression of the median nerve persists, you can start to experience tingling during the day.

Crippling Symptoms of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, women are at least three times more likely than men to develop carpal tunnel syndrome,

Symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome can get progressively worse over time leading to crippling conditions such as:

Loss of Grip Strength: Ability to perform fine motor skills decreases and grip strength can decrease making it harder to grab objects, form a fist, or do normal things like brush your teeth and close clothing buttons.
Numbness and Weakness: Due to numbness and weakness you may start to drop objects that you’re holding and have a general lack of proprioception or sense of hand position in relation to your body.
Thumb Muscle Deterioration: Muscle deterioration at the base of the thumb can occur in untreated cases of carpal tunnel syndrome causing weakened grip.
Loss of Sensation: It’s possible to lose or have lessened ability to feel the difference between hot and cold and reduced dexterity.

How Do I Know If I Have Carpal Tunnel?

You may be experiencing symptoms that make you think that you have carpal tunnel syndrome.

There are conditions that mimic carpal tunnel syndrome.

What we do first is rule out where the pain is coming from to make sure that it’s not just the result of an activity you’re performing, sports that you’re playing, or some other underlying disorder.

If we suspect that you are suffering from carpal tunnel syndrome we start by physically examining your hands, arms, shoulders and neck to determine where the pain issues are really coming from.

Carpal Tunnel Symptoms Articles

Learn more about carpal tunnel symptoms with these educational articles from orthopedic hand and wrist surgeons Dr. Mark E. Pruzansky and Dr. Jason S. Pruzansky:

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HandSport Surgery Institute is experienced in successfully diagnosing carpal tunnel syndrome.

If you are experiencing hand and wrist pain, schedule an appointment with New York City’s premier hand and wrist surgeons Dr. Mark E. Pruzansky, MD and Dr. Jason Pruzansky by calling 212-249-8700 or, click here to request an appointment.