Carpal tunnel syndrome is a nerve impingement in your wrist. Tennis elbow is an overuse injury of the muscles and tendons that attach to the outer side of your elbow. Both can cause similar symptoms.

Carpal tunnel syndrome is a collection of symptoms like numbness and tingling in your hand resulting from compression of the median nerve. It’s common among people who perform repetitive wrist movements.

Tennis elbow, or lateral epicondylitis, is inflammation of the tendons and muscles that extend your wrist and attach to the outer part of your elbow. It gets its name from being common among people playing racquet sports.

Read on to learn more about the difference between tennis elbow and carpal tunnel.

Tennis elbow and carpal tunnel syndrome can cause symptoms like pain, numbness, or tingling.

Carpal tunnel symptoms

Symptoms of carpal tunnel usually start slowly and include:

  • numbness, tingling, burning, or pain in your fingers or hand
  • occasional shock-like sensations in your fingers
  • pain or tingling traveling up your forearm
  • weakness or clumsiness in your hand

Learn more about carpal tunnel symptoms.

Tennis elbow symptoms

Symptoms of tennis elbow include:

  • pain or burning on the outer part of your elbow
  • weak grip strength
  • worsening pain at night or with certain activities

Carpal tunnel and tennis elbow are both generally overuse injuries.

Carpal tunnel causes and risk factors

The compression of the median nerve that runs through the underside of your wrist causes carpal tunnel syndrome.

Risk factors include:

Tennis elbow causes and risk factors

Overusing the muscles that extend your wrist can cause tennis tennis elbow. People at risk include those:

  • playing racquet sports
  • between 30 and 50 years old
  • in occupations like:
    • painters
    • plumbers
    • carpenters
    • auto workers
    • cooks
    • butchers

It’s best to contact a doctor if you develop neurological symptoms or pain in your hand or forearm that doesn’t get better after several weeks of rest.

It’s also advisable to visit a doctor if you’ve previously received a tennis elbow or carpal tunnel diagnosis and your symptoms are getting worse.

A doctor will start the diagnosis by:

  • asking about your symptoms
  • reviewing your medical history
  • performing a physical exam.

Movement tests they may perform include:

  • pressing down on your outer elbow
  • pressing down or tapping along the median nerve in your wrist to see if it causes tingling (Tinel’s sign)
  • bending and holding your wrists in a flexed position to test for numbness or tingling
  • testing your fingertip sensitivity by lightly touching them with a special instrument while your eyes are closed
  • looking for weakness in the muscles around your thumb

Your doctor may want to order additional tests, such as:

The most common treatments for tennis elbow and carpal tunnel include the following:

Carpal tunnel treatment

Carpal tunnel syndrome treatments include:

Tennis elbow treatment

As many as 95% of people have successful treatment without surgery. Treatment options include:

  • rest
  • NSAIDs or other medications
  • physical or occupational therapy
  • bracing
  • exercises
  • steroid injections (which may help with pain in the short term but should not be used long term)
  • PRP injections
  • extracorporeal shockwave therapy, a noninvasive treatment in which acoustic impulsed are administrated above the skin from a handheld device
  • surgery

Here’s a look at the recovery process for carpal tunnel syndrome and tennis elbow.

Carpal tunnel recovery

It often takes weeks to months to recover from carpal tunnel syndrome. It might take up to a year to regain typical sensation in your fingertips if you receive surgery.

Tennis elbow recovery

It can take weeks to months for tennis elbow to heal completely. It generally takes longer to recover if you keep performing the activities that caused it.

Your doctor may reconmend surgery if conservative treatments aren’t effective after 6 to 12 months.

You may be able to reduce your chances of developing carpal tunnel by:

  • taking frequent breaks from repetitive wrist activities
  • relaxing your grip
  • improving your posture
  • changing your keyboard or mouse

You may be able to prevent tennis elbow by:

  • making sure you’re using a proper racquet
  • warming up before sports activities
  • not ramping up athletic activity too quickly
  • strengthening and stretching your forearms and wrists

Here are some frequently asked questions people have about carpal tunnel syndrome and tennis elbow.

Can tennis elbow cause numbness in fingers?

Symptoms of tennis elbow can spread down your wrist and hand if the condition worsens.

Can carpal tunnel affect your elbow and shoulder?

Carpal tunnel pain can potentially radiate up your forearm and elbow toward your shoulder.

Can you have carpal tunnel and tennis elbow at the same time?

It’s possible to have tunnel syndrome and tennis elbow at the same time.

Does a carpal tunnel brace help tennis elbow?

A carpal tunnel brace is unlikely to effectively treat tennis elbow, especially if you continue performing aggravating movements.

How can you tell the difference between radial tunnel syndrome, tennis elbow and carpal tunnel?

Radial tunnel syndrome occurs due to an injury to the radial nerve. The best way to figure out what’s causing your symptoms is by visiting a doctor or other expert like a physiotherapist.

Tennis elbow and carpal tunnel syndrome are two common overuse injuries. Carpal tunnel syndrome develops from compression of the median nerve in your wrist.

Tennis elbow develops due to overuse of the tendons and muscles that extend your forearm and wrist.

Treatment for these two conditions is usually conservative. A doctor may recommend surgery if treatments like rest, physiotherapy, or injections aren’t effective.