Self Assessment - Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS)

Symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome usually progress gradually over weeks and months. If you experience recurrent or persistent pain, numbness and tingling, or weakness of the hand you should consult your physician. Symptoms often develop as follows:

• Initial symptoms include pain in the wrist and hand. Symptoms may occur in both hands.
• Early symptoms include; numbness, tingling, burning, or some combination on the palm side of the index, middle, and ring fingers.
• The hand may become numb and patients may lose the ability to tell hot from cold.
• Patients may experience a sense of weakness and a tendency to drop things.
• Patients may feel that their hands are swollen even though there is no visible swelling.
• Pain, numbness, or tingling in the thumb, index, middle, and medial half of ring finger.
• Thumb weakness or frequent dropping of objects.
• Inability to tell the difference between one and two sharp points on the fingertips.
• Typically pain occurs at night after going to bed
• Symptoms may occur when the hand is being used and also at night during rest.
• In cases where work is the suspected cause the symptoms usually occur outside of work.

Return to Self Assessment Page