There are many hand disorders that don’t stem from carpal tunnel problems, yet manifest with similar symptoms. This means that it is possible for someone to be treated for carpal tunnel issues, while the real problem remains undiagnosed and, even worse, untreated. It’s very important, when confronted with what seems to be carpal tunnel symptoms, that a doctor exercises care in eliminating other possible causes before beginning treatment.
The University of Maryland Medical Center (UMMC) website discusses two types of disorders that could manifest symptoms of CTS but might be something else entirely. The first category deals with underlying medical disorders. These could involve arthritic problems, for example, that might create hand or finger pain that would seem very much like the symptoms of CTS. The patient might even have a break in a bone somewhere that produces similar symptoms. There can even be some relation between thyroid disease and symptoms that are similar to those of CTS.
According to the UMMC, there are several other kinds of traumatic disorders that manifest similarities to carpal tunnel symptoms. They may even have similar causes. For example, while carpal tunnel problems are caused by pressure on the main nerve that runs from the wrist into the hand, nerve compression syndrome can occur at different spots in the arm. Because these nerves are all connected, the symptoms of a compression higher up could still manifest with numbness or pain in the hand.
Several sorts of tests can help distinguish genuine carpal tunnel symptoms from those stemming from other sorts of problems. A very simple test, according to the UMMC website, is for the doctor to ask the patient what they do if the symptoms are worse. If the answer is a “flicking” motion, like shaking a thermometer, that’s a good indication of CTS. Whatever test a physician uses, it’s important to be sure that the condition a patient is being treated for is one they actually have.