A wrist or finger that hurts, gives way and cannot grip securely

You fall onto your hand while skiing or cycling, and ever since, your wrist clicks with certain movements, as if something is shifting inside it.

A hand that goes numb and wakes you at night

You wake in the middle of the night with tingling in your fingers and instinctively shake your hand to feel relief. In the morning, holding a cup or doing a prolonged task with your hand brings the same numbness again, especially in fingers I–III (thumb, index and middle fingers). This is not simply ‘a hand you slept on in an awkward position’. It is compression of the median nerve, commonly called carpal tunnel syndrome.

What is actually happening?

The carpal tunnel is a narrow passage: carpal bones surround it below and on the sides, while a strong band of connective tissue closes it above – the transverse carpal ligament, also called the flexor retinaculum. Together with 9 finger-flexor tendons, the median nerve passes through this tight tunnel. It provides sensation to the thumb, index, middle and half of the ring finger and supplies the thenar muscles. It is like a crowded metro corridor at rush hour: tendons and nerve squeeze through the same narrow space. When surrounding tissues swell, the corridor becomes even tighter and the most sensitive structure, the nerve, is compressed and causes unpleasant symptoms.

Compression increases for many reasons: repetitive hand work with the wrist bent, pregnancy, underactive thyroid, diabetes, obesity, rheumatic diseases and sometimes an old wrist fracture that permanently narrowed the tunnel.

How can you recognize it?

  • tingling / numbness / reduced sensation in the thumb, index, middle and half of the ring finger, waking you at night or persisting during the day,
  • shaking the hand, as if flicking water off it, brings relief,
  • a weakened grip, for example difficulty opening a bottle or grasping larger objects,
  • small objects falling from the hand and reduced precision,
  • pain worsening during prolonged manual work,
  • intermittent finger cramps, burning or burning pain

Why you should not wait

A nerve exposed to prolonged compression gradually loses its ability to conduct signals properly. It begins with transient tingling, and over time the numbness becomes constant.

In advanced cases, permanent wasting of the thenar muscles develops, weakening both precision and overall grip, and this function often cannot be fully recovered. Numbness may progress to permanent sensory disturbances or loss of sensation in fingers I–IV. Therefore, the sooner you free the nerve from compression, the greater the chance it will fully recover.

How we help

We begin with an examination of the hand and ultrasound, which shows whether the median nerve is thickened at the compression site. EMG can confirm the degree of nerve damage and how slowed conduction is, but it is not essential for making the correct diagnosis.

For milder symptoms, we begin conservatively: an orthosis worn at night, anti-inflammatory medication and sometimes an injection directly into the carpal tunnel.

If this does not help or symptoms are severe, we decompress the nerve surgically: through a small incision, we cut the flexor retinaculum, the ligament compressing the tunnel. This permanently increases the space and reduces pressure on the nerve. The procedure is performed under local anaesthesia, and you can move your hand after just a few hours. Unpleasant numbness and night pain usually disappear immediately, but muscle recovery and resolution of sensory disturbances often take time.

There is one goal: no numbness waking you up and the ability to sleep through the night.

Book a consultation

If you recognize these symptoms, do not wait until the numbness becomes constant. Book a consultation. We will check how severely the nerve is compressed and tell you whether changing habits is sufficient or surgery is needed.