Initial symptoms of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome include pain, tenderness, tingling and numbness in the wrist, hand, and fingers, and shooting pain in the arm and shoulder. If left untreated, CTS symptoms can become so severe that a person can no longer perform simple tasks such as opening a jar or grasping objects. Early diagnosis and treatment are essential because eventually compression of the median nerve will cause some of the nerve cells to die which leaves the hand muscles permanently weak and atrophic.