Carpal tunnel syndrome

Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is pressure on a nerve in the wrist, the median nerve, as it runs through a narrow passage called the carpal tunnel. It causes tingling, numbness and pain in the hand and fingers (NHS). The median nerve is one of the five main nerves that come from the brachial plexus in the neck and armpit. It supplies feeling to the palm side of the thumb, index, middle and half the ring finger, and the muscles at the base of the thumb (TeachMeAnatomy).

What are the symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome?

The NHS lists (NHS):

• an ache or pain in the fingers, hand or arm
• numb hands
• tingling or pins and needles
• a weak thumb or difficulty gripping

Symptoms usually start slowly, come and go, and are worse at night. Pain can be felt in the wrist or the whole hand and can spread up the forearm, but it does not typically reach the neck. Over time, symptoms can appear during the day, especially with repetitive tasks such as typing. In advanced cases, people describe weakness, clumsiness and wasting of the muscles at the base of the thumb (Sevy et al., 2023).

Does computer work cause carpal tunnel syndrome?

Less than many people assume:

• A large follow-up study. In 5,658 Danish trade union members followed for a year, 10.9% reported tingling or numbness in the right hand, but interviews confirmed a median nerve pattern in only 4.8%, and night symptoms in 1.4%. Using a mouse for more than 20 hours a week was linked with possible CTS; keyboard use was not significantly linked. The authors concluded that computer use is not a severe occupational hazard for CTS (Andersen et al., 2003).
• A systematic review. Eight studies of computer work and CTS all had limitations, and the review found insufficient evidence that computer work causes it. Pressure inside the carpal tunnel during typical computer use stayed below levels thought harmful, although one study measured potentially harmful levels during actual mouse use, with unknown long-term effects (Thomsen et al., 2008).

The NHS lists the better-established risk factors: being overweight, pregnancy, work or hobbies that involve repeatedly bending the wrist or gripping hard (such as vibrating tools), arthritis or diabetes, a parent or sibling with CTS, and a previous wrist injury (NHS). If you use a mouse for long hours, Is a vertical mouse better? looks at the evidence on mouse design.

Not every tingling hand is CTS. A trapped nerve root in the neck, called radiculopathy, can cause arm and hand symptoms, often with neck or shoulder pain (Margetis et al., 2025). Tingling on the little-finger side of the hand points instead towards the ulnar nerve (TeachMeAnatomy).

What helps carpal tunnel syndrome?

The NHS suggests a wrist splint worn at night, cutting down on activities that make you bend your wrist often or grip hard, and painkillers for short-term relief, though there is little evidence they treat the cause. There is a small amount of evidence that hand exercises help. If a splint doesn’t work, a steroid injection may be offered, and surgery, which usually cures CTS, is considered if it keeps getting worse (NHS).

A Cochrane review of 16 trials with 741 people found only limited, very low-quality evidence for exercise and mobilisation treatments, and advised that people who prefer them should be told how limited the evidence is (Page et al., 2012). The wrist stretches page shows a general wrist mobility exercise, not a treatment for CTS. For the desk itself, the workstation checklist covers keyboard and mouse setup.

When to see a doctor

See a GP if your symptoms are getting worse or not going away, or treatment at home isn’t working (NHS). Don’t wait if you notice weakness, clumsiness or the muscles at the base of your thumb looking thinner, as these are signs of more advanced nerve compression (Sevy et al., 2023). Pins and needles that are constant or keep coming back should also be checked (NHS).