Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) can cause shoulder pain, although it is not one of the typical symptoms. In some cases, people may have shoulder pain without any wrist pain.
If CTS is the cause, then treatment to ease nerve compression in the wrist may also resolve the shoulder pain.
Read on to learn more about CTS and shoulder pain, including why CTS can cause shoulder pain, what it feels like, and treatments.
Yes, shoulder pain can be a sign of CTS in some cases.
Although CTS usually causes wrist pain, it
In some cases, people with CTS who have shoulder pain can have little or no wrist pain. This may be because the nerve compression in the wrist is mild, or subclinical.
Shoulder pain in CTS can occur due to referred pain, which develops when a problem in one part of the body causes pain in another.
In CTS, pain usually occurs at the place where nerves have become compressed in the wrist. However, it
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Shoulder pain due to CTS may feel like a shooting pain or an electric shock.
Other symptoms of CTS can include:
- numbness
- tingling
- weakness
Usually, the symptoms of CTS begin gradually. They may come and go to begin with but become more persistent over time, and many people find that CTS worsens at night.
Learn more about how CTS feels.
To find the cause of shoulder pain, doctors will perform a physical examination and ask questions about the type and location of the pain. The physical examination may assess a person’s:
- range of movement
- grip strength
- physical sensation in the shoulder, arm, or hand
If a doctor suspects nerve compression, they may also press down or tap on parts of the wrist or arm to see if it triggers symptoms. However, this may not be the first test they consider for shoulder pain alone.
Other diagnostic tests may include:
Misdiagnosis
Because shoulder pain is not a typical symptom of CTS, doctors may not look for problems in the wrist to begin with.
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If someone has concerns about their shoulder pain, which could be due to CTS or a condition further down the arm, they can ask their doctor about this.
Treating CTS at the wrist may resolve or improve shoulder pain in people with this symptom. However, this may only work if CTS is the only cause.
If there are other causes, such as a second nerve compression site elsewhere, a person may need further treatments to address this.
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Out of the participants:
- six had a 60% improvement in pain when wearing a wrist splint
- 23 received nerve blocks and experienced persistent pain relief
- 27 required further intervention and had surgery, with persistent pain relief afterward
Other treatments for CTS more generally involve:
- nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs)
- reducing or modifying activities that make the symptoms worse, such as repetitive wrist movements
- nerve gliding exercises
- corticosteroid injections
While CTS can cause shoulder pain, there are other conditions that affect the nerves that may also cause similar symptoms.
For example, cubital tunnel syndrome refers to nerve compression at the elbow. Similar to CTS, this can also cause symptoms that appear further up the arm and at the shoulder.
Another possibility is double crush syndrome, which is when there are two nerve compression sites along the same nerve. A pinched nerve in the neck could also cause pain in the shoulder.
Learn more about the causes of shoulder pain.
Carpal tunnel syndrome can sometimes cause shoulder pain. Occasionally, this can even occur in people with little to no wrist pain. It may result from referred pain, where compression of the nerves in the wrist causes pain further up the nerve in the arm or shoulder.
Doctors may diagnose this condition via a physical examination, medical imaging, or nerve conduction tests. If tapping or pressing the wrist worsens the shoulder pain, it could be a sign of carpal tunnel syndrome.
If this is the case, treating compressed nerves in the wrist may improve the shoulder pain. Some options include wearing a wrist splint, anti-inflammatory pain medications, nerve blocks, or surgery.