Signs and Symptoms of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

courtesy: Prof Nabil Ebraheim, University of Toledo, Ohio, USA

The video describes signs and symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome which is the commonest entrapment neuropathy of upper limb.

• Patients presents with symptoms of tingling,numbness,pain and paresthesia in the area of median nerve distribution worse at night, in advanced case there is weakness and atrophy of thenar muscles.
• Diagnostic clinical signs are positive tinel sign, where tapping over median nerve will produce radiating paresthesia in area of median nerve distribution(lateral three and half fingers),Positive Phalen’s test in which flexion of wrist will produce symptoms with in 30 seconds,and Durkan’s test where direct pressure over median nerve will produce symptoms.
• We should differentiate carpal tunnel syndrome from pronator teres syndrome(proximal compression of median nerve ),in which sensations over thenar area is impaired since palmar cutaneous nerve is involved in proximal compression