Carpal tunnel syndrome is an injury that causes pain and discomfort in a person’s wrists, arms, and hands and can leave them unable to perform day-to-day tasks.
The carpal tunnel is a narrow part of the wrist formed by the small carpal bones on the underside and sides of the wrist and the transverse carpal ligament on top. One of the main nerves in the hand — known as the median nerve — passes through the “tunnel” and provides feeling in the thumb index, middle, and ring fingers in addition to controlling muscles around the base of the thumb.