The answer is Yes - carpal tunnel is genetic. This painful, numbing, and progressive disorder is definitely linked to family history. And recent studies show it's far more prevalent in women than anybody ever imagined.

• Think you have carpal tunnel? Complimentary self-test

• Already know you have carpal tunnel? This Quiz tells you its severity
  

Most people with carpal tunnel syndrome have specific signs and symptoms in their hand or fingers. These can include any of the following:

• Pain
• Numbness
• Burning
• Tingling
• Shooting electric shocks
• Weakness
• Clumsiness
• Itching

In the beginning stages of the disorder, symptoms usually appear only at night. In time, symptoms start to appear during the daytime as well. In the severe stage, symptoms are constant. The thumb and index finger are most likely to be involved first. The little finger never has symptoms.

When you see your doctor he or she will perform a physical exam to diagnose the problem. During the exam, the first question the doctor will ask is if you have a family member with carpal tunnel syndrome. Having a family member with carpal tunnel almost confirms the diagnosis.

In other words, a major risk factor for getting carpal tunnel is family history or genetics. Another risk factor is your occupation. Certain jobs are high risk for getting carpal tunnel. In fact, some industries are infamous for having this disorder. For instance, with hairdressers, carpal tunnel syndrome is number 4 among their top 3 health concerns. And 15% of them already have this condition.

Other notable occupations infamously associated with carpal tunnel include:

• Graphic designers
• Artists
• Guitar players
• Dental hygienists
• Truck drivers
• Gamers
• Sonographers
• Carpenters
• Farmers
• Assembly line workers
  

Other major risk factors for this disorder include certain health conditions. The conditions commonly making you more prone to getting carpal tunnel include:

• Pregnancy
• Smoking
• Small body frame
• Rheumatoid arthritis
• Lupus
• Obesity
• Hypothyroidism
• History of a broken hand or wrist
  

Carpal tunnel syndrome occurs in families. The hereditary nature of carpal tunnel syndrome means if you have it, then your children will likely sufferer as well. Likewise, if a sibling has it, then you're also at high risk. And if you're a female with a parent who had carpal tunnel syndrome, then you're at extremely high risk.

No one is really certain which specific genetic factor or factors cause carpal tunnel syndrome. But two possible candidates have been proposed: problems with collagen and anatomical problems.

The pathology of carpal tunnel syndrome begins in the tendons and other connective tissues inside the wrist joint. Stiffer or less strong collagen fibers in tendons will make them less strong. This can lead to tendon failure. This then can result in tendon inflammation and swelling. The tendon swelling crushes the adjacent median nerve (see illustration) which is the basis of carpal tunnel syndrome.

Evidence suggests that certain genes make tissue proteins (like collagen) which are not optimal for strength or suppleness. In other words, the collagen is defective. Examples are defects in Type V collagen, which has been shown to be present in people with carpal tunnel syndrome.

Genes also control our physical characteristics. They contain the code for how tall or wide we become. They also code for the diameter of our limbs, and in particular, our wrists.

Statistics show that more slightly built ("small boned") individuals are at higher risk for developing carpal tunnel syndrome. And if you inherited a smaller body frame including a smaller wrist diameter, you're at even higher risk for the disorder.

The well-known fact is that females are 3-5 times more likely to develop carpal tunnel syndrome than males. This is why many scientists consider it primarily a female condition.

But the reason it's a primarily female condition is not just due to more narrow wrists commonly seen in females. It's more than that. One hint comes from Dr. Kramer and others. They have shown that females with carpal tunnel syndrome tend to have elevated levels of Type II collagen. Such an increase may change the surface of cartilaginous structures. This change impacts how tissues can handle mechanical loads, and by extension, can lead to tendon failure.

The consequences of repetitive stress cannot be understated. Repetitively stressing your fingers and hands is a major risk factor for developing carpal tunnel syndrome. And the major source of repetitive stress is related to the work environment.

Males make up slightly more than half of the US labor force. And in that workforce, females produce only 10% of the manual labor performed.

Adjusting for this disparity means that women are exposed to manual labor 9 times less than males. Yet they are more prone to carpal tunnel! Therefore, the probability of women developing carpal tunnel syndrome (under equal working environments) is not 2-3 times higher, but over 30 times higher than in males!

By any measure, this reinforces the idea that carpal tunnel syndrome is primarily a "female condition".

The most reliable way a doctor can diagnose carpal tunnel syndrome is by using 3 "provocative tests". These are the Phalen, Tinel, and Durkan tests. They represent reliable ways to determine if you have carpal tunnel syndrome instead of another condition, like wrist tendonitis. 

Basically, the doctor taps and presses on your wrist area. If the doctor can "provoke" symptoms (or make them worse) then it's positive for having carpal tunnel syndrome.

• Note: You can do these identical tests for carpal tunnel on yourself, usually with very reliable results. Click here to see these self-tests.

Unfortunately, many doctors still rely heavily on electromyography (EMG), MRI, and CT exams to diagnose carpal tunnel syndrome. But the American Academy of Neurology says such tests are valueless compared to the 3 simple and precise provocative tests. In other words, the electronic tests should be used only to confirm the provocative diagnosis.

The most important partner you have against fighting carpal tunnel syndrome is a stretching exercise regimen. If you do these 4 core stretching exercises every 1-2 hours, then your carpal tunnel symptoms will usually disappear in just a few weeks. And they certainly will never get worse.

Carpal tunnel is related to genetics. Having a parent or sibling with this condition is a good way to predict if you’ll also see symptoms. In other words, you're at high risk if there's a hereditary link. Also, if you're female, you're at high risk as well. That means having both risk factors almost assures you'll get carpal tunnel syndrome. But you don’t have to let carpal tunnel control your life. Just perform the simple stretching exercises described here.