Carpal tunnel syndrome is a well-known syndrome. So whenever someone has pain, tingling, or weakness in their wrists, they tend to jump to the conclusion that they are suffering from this condition. Many times this isn’t the case, just a misdiagnosis.

If you are having problems with your hands and wrists and think you have carpal tunnel syndrome, it is important that you are properly diagnosed. Keep reading to discover how carpal tunnel syndrome diagnosed and other conditions that mimic carpal tunnel syndrome.

Thoracic Outlet Syndrome

This condition has many of the same symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome. This syndrome creates parasthesia or pain in the hands.

Pronator Teres Syndrome

Carpal tunnel syndrome is a median-nerve entrapment which is a fancy way of saying that the median nerve is being pinched. Many times the median nerve isn’t trapped in the carpal tunnel and this is the case in pronator teres syndrome.

Instead of the nerve being trapped in the carpal tunnel, it is "trapped" in the pronator teres muscle located in the forearm. Treatment and surgery in your wrist will have no effect if this is the case.

Synovial Ganglion Cysts

This condition is caused by the growth of cysts in the carpal tunnel causing the compression of the median nerve. This is not true carpal tunnel syndrome and does not need traditional carpal tunnel syndrome treatment.

Diagnosing Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

To properly diagnose carpal tunnel syndrome, physicians use eletrodiagnostic tests. The most common test is one that measures nerve-conduction velocity. In other words, it detects if there is a slowing of the rate of nerve conduction near the carpal tunnel. This test may indicate carpal tunnel syndrome, but the patient must also be observed for a pattern of symptoms. If these patterns are consistent with carpal tunnel syndrome, then that is the diagnosis.

Phalen’s Test is where the patient presses the backside of his hands together for 60 seconds. If the patient has pain along the median nerve, this is a positive indication for carpal tunnel syndrome.

The next test is the tethered median-nerve stress test. To do this, the doctor will pull the index finger into a hyperextended position as far as the patient can tolerate. If this causes the patient pain, it indicates carpal tunnel syndrome.

The third test used by doctors is called the carpal-compression test. This is done by applying direct pressure to the carpal tunnel. If the patient has carpal tunnel syndrome, slight pressure in this area will cause the symptoms.

As you can see, it is possible to have other conditions that create carpal tunnel syndrome symptoms. It is very important to have your condition properly diagnosed so you receive the correct treatment and don’t make your condition worse than it was to begin with.

Javier Hernandez

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