Which condition is caused by median nerve compression within the carpal tunnel?

Which condition is caused by median nerve compression within the carpal tunnel?

• A. Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
• B. Tennis Elbow
• C. Ganglion
• D. De Quervain's Tenosynovitis

Answer: (A)

Compression of the median nerve as it travels through the carpal tunnel disrupts the nerve’s normal function to the thumb-side of the hand. The median nerve provides sensation to the thumb, index, middle, and half of the ring finger, and it controls key thumb muscles needed for grasping. When this nerve is squeezed inside the tunnel, you get numbness or tingling in those fingers, often waking you at night, and you may notice weakness with thumb opposition or a tendency to drop items. This pattern of sensory and motor changes is what makes Carpal Tunnel Syndrome the correct choice. Tennis elbow involves tendons at the outer elbow, not the median nerve inside the wrist, so it causes elbow-specific pain rather than median-nerve–distribution numbness. A ganglion is a cyst that can press on nearby structures but typically presents as a noticeable lump at the wrist rather than the classic distribution of numbness and tingling in the hand. De Quervain’s tenosynovitis is inflammation of the first extensor compartment near the thumb, causing radial wrist pain with thumb movement, not median nerve symptoms.

Compression of the median nerve as it travels through the carpal tunnel disrupts the nerve’s normal function to the thumb-side of the hand. The median nerve provides sensation to the thumb, index, middle, and half of the ring finger, and it controls key thumb muscles needed for grasping. When this nerve is squeezed inside the tunnel, you get numbness or tingling in those fingers, often waking you at night, and you may notice weakness with thumb opposition or a tendency to drop items. This pattern of sensory and motor changes is what makes Carpal Tunnel Syndrome the correct choice.

Tennis elbow involves tendons at the outer elbow, not the median nerve inside the wrist, so it causes elbow-specific pain rather than median-nerve–distribution numbness. A ganglion is a cyst that can press on nearby structures but typically presents as a noticeable lump at the wrist rather than the classic distribution of numbness and tingling in the hand. De Quervain’s tenosynovitis is inflammation of the first extensor compartment near the thumb, causing radial wrist pain with thumb movement, not median nerve symptoms.