The carpal tunnel is the location on the palmar side of the wrist where wrist flexor tendons, and the median nerve pass through to get to the hand.  The ‘tunnel’ itself is comprised of the carpal bones and the transverse carpal ligament. Injury to this area usually occurs from repetitive use of the hands, and causes swelling within the tunnel/compartment.  The swelling can decrease the space available to the tendons and nerve to pass through, causing compression of these structure.  This can lead to pain, numbness, tingling and weakness in the hand. There are often mechanical issues that predispose individuals to this, along with environmental factors (i.e. work duties and personal hobbies) that cause the symptoms.  Our therapist with assess the mechanical structures of our patients, and also discuss daily activities that may be a root cause of the issue.  Along with the physical therapy treatment, we will make activity modification suggestions to reduce exacerbating factors.

Associated symptoms:

• Wrist/hand pain
• Wrist/hand swelling
• Wrist/hand numbness/tingling
• Weak grip
• Difficulty holding objects