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The main symptom of carpal tunnel syndrome is numbness and/or tingling in the thumb, index and middle fingers, and all or half of the ring finger (the side closest to the thumb). Waking up at night, having to shake hand or hold over the side of the bed.Numbness and tingling that is often worse at night.Some of the symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome may include: The wrist position during driving or sleep, for example, may simply aggravate the symptoms. This is also not necessarily the primary cause of the problem. Some people get symptoms while driving a car. While symptoms can sometimes be worse at night, sleep has not been shown to cause carpal tunnel. Also, during pregnancy, hormonal changes and extra body fluid retention may add swelling and pressure into the tunnel. If you have carpal tunnel syndrome, your children may be more likely to get it. Carpal tunnel syndrome is more common in people with obesity, diabetes, alcohol addiction, fibromyalgia and hypothyroidism. Thus, it is rare in children and adolescents and more common in ages 40 and over. Each decade someone is alive, there are more people that experience carpal tunnel syndrome. For example, women are more likely than men to experience carpal tunnel syndrome. There are some risk factors that increase the chances of getting carpal tunnel syndrome. The determination of cause of symptoms requires experienced and specialized health care providers to provide an opinion, taking many factors into account. However, it is complicated to determine if the work activity is the main cause of the symptoms or if work is incidentally just aggravating a condition that is already present (unrelated to work). Repetitive activities in the workplace with forceful or repetitive gripping or vibration can also increase symptoms. Eventually, symptoms can become constant. It may also take longer for the symptoms to go away after the activity stops. If the pressure continues off and on for weeks to months, the symptoms may come on faster after the activity or wrist position is created. If the funny feeling in the fingers just began, this is easily resolved by moving the fingers back and forth and out of the position. A prolonged or constant fist or bend (like a fist during sleep, reading a book, or some other activities) may put enough pressure to cause the numbness/tingling. Repetitive motions performed at work or homeĮven making a tight closed fist or holding the wrist in bent or extended positions can put increased pressure on the median nerve.Wrist fracture or dislocation of the wrist.While the exact carpal tunnel syndrome causes are usually unknown and due to the patient’s personal anatomy, there are many factors that can contribute to the increased pressure or inflammation, including: When pressure results in nerve symptoms, it is called a compressive neuropathy. This extra pressure can come from swelling (inflammation) of the contents inside the tunnel. The most likely cause of carpal tunnel syndrome is extra pressure on the median nerve at the wrist inside the tunnel.
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