A 69-year-old man has numbness in the middle three digits of his right hand and finds it difficult to grasp objects with that hand. He states that he retired 9 years earlier, after working as a carpenter for 50 years. He has atrophy of the thenar eminence ( Fig ). Which of the following conditions is the most likely cause of the problems in his hand?,

It is due to repeat stress injury - leading to carpal tunnel syndrome compression of median nerve with inflammation of flexor tendons tingling sensation in 31/2 fingers including nail bed loss of motor innervation to muscles of the thenar eminence atrophy ofthenar eminence Osteoahritis of the cervical spine would also lead to increasing complexity of symptoms. Ulnar nerve is not implicated in these symptoms. It does not provide sensation to digits 1 to 3.