In advanced carpal tunnel syndrome, numbness and tingling sensations are often permanent.
The symptoms typically affect the fingers supplied by the branches of the median nerve: the thumb, the index and middle fingers and the thumb-side part of the ring finger.
The little finger and the ulnar part of the ring finger are supplied by the branches of the ulnar nerve(ulnar nerve). If there is also a skin sensation disorder in these areas, an additional constriction of the ulnar nerve must be considered (ulnar nerve syndrome, Loge de Guyon syndrome).
However, the cause may also be a problem in the shoulder or neck area.
Possible late effects of carpal tunnel syndrome
If the constriction of the nerve remains untreated for a long time, our hand surgeons can usually detect atrophy of the muscles in the ball of the thumb.
In the middle area, this is supplied by a branch of the median nerve, which also runs through the carpal tunnel. The force of the thumb when pressing the tips of the long fingers against the tip of the thumb is then significantly reduced. This severely restricts the gripping function.
In the final stage, there is complete numbness of the fingers described above and reduced function due to partial paralysis of the ball of the thumb, which is irreparable.
Median nerve supply area affected by carpal tunnel syndrome.
