Causes
Most cases of CTS are of unknown causes, or idiopathic. Carpal Tunnel Syndrome can be associated with any condition that causes pressure on the median nerve at the wrist. Some common conditions that can lead to CTS include obesity, oral contraceptives, hypothyroidism, arthritis, diabetes, and trauma. Carpal tunnel is also a feature of a form of Charcot-Marie-Tooth syndrome type 1 called hereditary neuropathy with liability to pressure palsies.
Other causes of this condition include intrinsic factors that exert pressure within the tunnel, and extrinsic factors (pressure exerted from outside the tunnel), which include benign tumors such as lipomas, ganglion, and vascular malformation. Carpal tunnel syndrome often is a symptom of transthyretin amyloidosis-associated polyneuropathy and prior carpal tunnel syndrome surgery is very common in individuals who later present with transthyretin amyloid-associated cardiomyopathy, suggesting that transthyretin amyloid deposition may cause carpal tunnel syndrome.
Read more about this topic: Carpal Tunnel Syndrome