Where is the Carpal Tunnel Anatomically? In the Hand or in the Wrist?

Question from George
Madison, Wisconsin

Answers From Doctors at First Hand Medical

There is a lot of confusion about the anatomical location of the Carpal Tunnel among patients. Most patients think that it is in the wrist and associate wrist pain exclusively with Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. However, the Carpal Tunnel is not in the wrist at all. It is proximate to the wrist at the base of the hand between the two major muscle groups at the base of the hand on the palm-side:

1- The Thenar Muscles located at the base of the Thumb and

2-  The Hypothenar muscles located on the pinky-finger-side of the palm

The photograph above identifies the exact anatomical location of the Carpal Tunnel between the two groups of major muscles at the base of the hand.

Three of the walls of the narrow passage known as the Carpal Tunnel are made of major bones supporting the structure of the hand. The fourth wall is the biggest ligament of the hand, known as the Transverse Carpal Ligament. This ligament connects the bones and Thenar Muscle Group and the Hypothenar Group of Muscles.

Grip strength in the hand is derived from the ligaments, bones and muscles working tightly together to great a strong grip.

It is the Transverse Carpal Ligament that is severed in Carpal Tunnel Surgery. Surgeons hope the ligament heals back together with more space. When the ligament is severed in a carpal tunnel surgical procedure, the pressure on the Median Nerve in the Carpal Tunnel is relieved, because one of the four walls of the Carpal Tunnel has been compromised. Grip strength is also compromised by definition, this Transverse Carpal Ligament is integral to creating grip strength.

In Summary, The Carpal Tunnel is at the Base of the Hand between the two major muscles of the palm. It is packed with 7 tendons, muscles, blood vessels, lymphatic channels and the Median Nerve.

The Median Nerve and seven major tendons that control the movement in the fingers from muscles in the forearm run through the Carpal Tunnel side by side.  The Carpal Tunnel space is packed tightly, there is not a lot of extra room for excess lymphatic fluid or inflammation.

Excess inflammation and lymphatic fluid get trapped with the onset of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.  The trapped inflammation becomes toxic, viscous and blocks the normal healing processes of the hand.  Normally the body is good at dispersing excess inflammation, but when it gets trapped it sets up a negative chronic cycle that restricts blood circulation, squeezes the lymphatic channels, and puts pressure on the tendons and on the Median Nerve in the Carpal Tunnel.   This cyclical condition is known as CTS can be difficult to break and restore your body’s natural healing without some outside help.

However, with the consistent gentle stretching therapy for eight hours during sleep, a person can break the cycle within 2 to 4 weeks and achieve complete remission of this syndrome within 6 weeks.   Once your body’s natural healing processes are restored with full blood circulation, full lymphatic fluid exchange and the pressure removed from pressing on the Median Nerve, everything gets back to normal.

Carpal Tunnel goes away for 5 to 7 years for most people after completing the 6-week Carpal Solution Stretching Treatment Protocol.