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Carpal tunnel syndrome: the signs, what causes it, getting a diagnosis, treatment, and living with it
For anyone whose fingers go numb or tingle, especially at night; anyone who wakes up shaking out a hand; and anyone who now drops things or finds buttons hard. The National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS, part of the NIH) says carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) happens when the median nerve is pressed or squeezed at the wrist, that it is a common nerve condition, and that early diagnosis and treatment are important to avoid further damage to the nerve. This page passes on, by name, what NIAMS says: the signs; what can add to it and who gets it; the exam, the tests and who treats it; splints, an injection and surgery; and the steps to take day to day. It builds the words to say to a provider, and prints a card for the visit.
Right now
- Numbness or weakness that came on suddenly, especially on one side of the body, a face that droops, or speech that is suddenly hard: call 911 (ours). It may be a stroke; NIAMS says carpal tunnel syndrome usually starts slowly. See When it might be a stroke.
- A wrist that was hurt and is very swollen or out of shape: get care today (ours). See Broken bones.
- Thinking about suicide: call or text 988, any time.
More help
- Hands, joints and nerves: Arthritis · Sprains, strains and sports injuries · Broken bones · Pain, bones and joints.
- What can add to it: Diabetes · Pregnancy and a new baby · Menopause.
- At work: Ask for what helps you work · When something is wrong at work.
- Care and costs: Symptom diary · Medicines list · Living with chronic pain · When you need a doctor and can’t pay · When medicine costs too much · Get ready for the appointment.
- In a crisis: Help right now (988, 911). All our free tools.
Pain, a bone or a joint, and not sure this is the right page? The pages on this site for back pain, arthritis, pain that lasts, headaches, broken bones and sickle cell, on one list.
This page and its wording were written with AI (Claude) for Scarlet Beast (our AI policy). No doctor, nurse or therapist has reviewed it. The facts were read on October 16, 2026 on NIAMS’s Carpal Tunnel Syndrome page, both parts: Overview, Symptoms, & Causes and Diagnosis, Treatment, & Steps to Take (NIH, last reviewed December 2023), and on its Spanish twin, Síndrome del túnel carpiano (February 2024), which carries the same facts. Ours: calling 911 for numbness or weakness that comes on suddenly, especially on one side, a drooping face or trouble speaking; getting care today for a hurt wrist that is very swollen or out of shape; seeing a provider soon if numbness or weakness keeps getting worse; that NIAMS blames no one job or habit; asking an employer for changes; not stopping a prescribed medicine on your own; asking a pharmacist about an over-the-counter medicine; writing things down; asking what a test or treatment would change, its risks, the time off work and what it costs; 988; and the order of the steps. What we left out: any medicine’s name or dose, any named exam test, any exercise, stretch, diet, supplement, remedy or product NIAMS does not give, any claim that a job or task causes it, and NIAMS’s research pages. This page saves nothing and loads no trackers.