Millions of people suffer from these symptoms everyday. The relentless throbbing, numbness and tingling of your hands and fingers can make your life miserable. If this sounds familiar, then you most likely have carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) or at least carpal tunnel symptoms. It is more common in females than males by a 2 to 1 margin. It usually occurs in someone in there 40's or older.

Although repetitive use of the hands has been identified as one cause of CTS there are many other causes of carpal tunnel syndrome. The carpal tunnel is a ring-like or tunnel structure in your wrist and the median nerve passes through this "tunnel". When the tunnel gets smaller or the other structures within the tunnel get larger and pressure is put upon the median nerve, is when you get carpal tunnel syndrome. People with diabetes, Arthritis, hypothyroidism, and obesity are all at an increased risk for getting CTS. Some pregnant women will get CTS, usually due to the increased swelling of the hands and wrist area. Often their symptoms will go away after delivery, but in about 10% of these women, they will still have symptoms 1 year later!

The classic picture of carpal tunnel, starts with a gradual onset of symptoms which include numbness and tingling of the first 3 fingers and sometimes the thumb. Symptoms seem to be worse at night for a majority of patients. Eventually the numbness and tingling may start to feel like an ache or throbbing feeling, often causing the patient to rub or shake their hands thinking it is a circulation problem.

Conservative or nonsurgical treatment is almost always recommended first. Very few cases should undergo or need surgery right off the bat, unless it is documented with special nerve studies that there is nerve damage. Special carpal tunnel braces are advised as well as a comfortable night splints while sleeping. Ice wraps and pain relieving gels can also help reduce your carpal tunnel pain.