What is the carpal tunnel and what are the clinical manifestations resulting from an injury to it ?
Carpal tunnel syndrome is a medical condition due to compression of median nerve as it passes through wrist at the carpal tunnel. Clinical manifestation is numbness, tingling or burning sensation of thumb and index or middle finger and radial half of ring finger. Ache and discomfort can possibly be felt more proximally in forearm or even the upper arm.
The carpal tunnel is an osteofibrous canal situated in the volar wrist. The boundaries are the carpal bones and the flexor retinaculum. In addition to the medial nerve, the carpal tunnel contains nine tendons: the flexor pollicis longus, the four flexor digitorum superficialis and the four flexor digitorum profundus.
Injury can cause compression of the median nerve as it travels through the wrist at the carpal tunnel. (Carpal tunnel syndrome).