Sore Shoulder

I'm often asked if there's a  link between carpal tunnel syndrome and shoulder pain?

Strictly speaking the answer is no but in practice most doctors and physical therapists who specialise in joints and muscle pain will have seen several patients where the two conditions seem to exist at the same time.

Carpal tunnel syndrome is caused by compression or squeezing on the median nerve at the wrist. The nerve has to get through a narrow tunnel and pressure there causes pins and needles or tingling feelings in the hand. The thumb and index finger are usually worst affected.

Sometimes however you'll find that an identical pattern of symptoms can be triggered by irritation of the sixth cervical nerve in the neck. This is usually abbreviated to be called the C6 nerve. This nerve comes from the neck and runs down the arm to the hand - passing around the shoulder as it goes. Nerve pressure in the neck - or in the shoulder region - can cause pain around the shoulder and tingles in the hand.

There's another rarer condition called the Carpal Tunnel Double Crush syndrome. Research has shown that an injury to the median nerve at the wrist can also trigger problems with nerve function further up the nerve - causing pains at the elbow or at the shoulder.