Carpal Tunnel Syndrome: Diagnosing and treating the most common hand disorder.

Carpal tunnel syndrome is a very common hand problem usually presenting with nighttime pain, numbness, and loss of dexterity. Controversy arises over the diagnosis, treatment, and evaluation of results. Nighttime splinting will improve the symptoms in some patients. If this fails, excellent results can be achieved with surgical decompression of the median nerve in the carpal canal.