10 Signs Of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome That No One Should Ignore

First of all, what is carpal tunnel?

According to, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), it is:

A narrow, rigid passageway of ligament and bones at the base of the hand [that] houses the median nerve and the tendons that bend the fingers. The median nerve provides feeling to the palm side of the thumb and to the index, middle, and part of the ring fingers (although not the little finger). It also controls some small muscles at the base of the thumb.

Carpal tunnel syndrome, or CTS, occurs when the carpal tunnel becomes squeezed at the wrist, which interferes with the nerve being able to properly deliver messages to the muscle.

Symptoms of carpal tunnel often start gradually, and one of the first is almost always numbness.

It's a scary feeling when your any part of your body starts to lose feeling, and it's especially problematic when it's somewhere as sensitive as your hands.

The problem areas — your hand and wrist — may also experience pain in conjunction with numbness.

If there is no apparent outside cause of pain in these areas, CTS might be to blame.

CTS and its symptoms can occur anytime of day, but they often start and are worst at night.

This is because people often sleep with their wrists flexed, which irritates the carpal tunnel even further than it already is.

All of the pain and complications at night will likely make your hands feel kind of useless in the morning.

Even as your muscles begin to relax, and feeling is returned to your hands, you might have trouble using them for simple activities like making coffee or buttoning a shirt.

If you've been suffering from CTS symptoms for a while, your muscles will stop getting as much exercise as they normally would.

For this reason, you may notice that doing something like opening a jar or the fridge isn't as easy as it normally would be.

Another way that CTS may make your hands feel different? By creating a strange, burning sensation.

Since the nerve that controls your hand is pinched, it tends to act up in ways it normally wouldn't, like causing this spontaneous burning feeling.

If your hands and wrists are itchy, and there's no explanation like a rash or allergy, it's possible that carpal tunnel is to blame.

Sensations like tingling, itching, and numbness are all associated with nerve response, and a compromised carpal tunnel can cause some unusual reactions.

With lack of control over your fingers and hands, you might experience difficulty gripping objects.

Dropping a glass is never fun, but it's even less fun when your hands don't even work properly enough to clean up the mess they caused.

Normally, we are very good and quick to detect changes in temperatures. However, CTS will often interfere with the accuracy of sensation in the problem area.

Remember, just because something doesn't feel hot, doesn't mean it isn't. Not being able to feel boiling water is a third-degree burn waiting to happen.

Since CTS is often caused by swelling in the wrist, it's not uncommon for the puffiness to extend to the hand and fingers, too.

Some people with CTS might even just feel as though their fingers are puffy and useless, even though they don't appear so.

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