Hi Keith,
I found your message because I'm taking a class with Steve Pavlina, the owner of this forum. My expertise (18 years experience) is in repetitive strain injuries, including carpal tunnel syndrome and hand/wrist pain and numbness. I've worked with many thousands of people, including musicians, and I'm happy to say that you CAN learn how to self treat the muscles that are causing the strain on your carpal tunnel and the median nerve. The odds are your primary problem is a muscle called the pectoralis minor. This muscle inserts into a bone at the top of your shoulder and when it goes into a spasm it will pull on the bone and put pressure on the axillary artery (slowing circulation) and impinging on the median nerve (causing tingling and numbness). If it's tight enough it will also put pressure on the ulnar nerve and cause tingling/numbness in your ring and pinky fingers.
You can learn about these muscles and why they cause pain and numbness by going to
Carpal Tunnel Treatment Center - Therapy for Repetitive Strain Injuries, Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, Trigger Finger, Hand/Wrist Pain and Numbness. and then looking at the section that shows the graphics of the muscles. There is text that explains each muscle and why it's a cause of pain and numbness. You can also read about muscles and repetitive strain injuries by going to
Julstro - sports injuries, muscle pain, sports medicine and going to the section titled "Muscles and Pain" and then "What's Happening Really."
The bottom line is that you need to learn how to self-treat the muscles if you are going to continue to play the guitar. You're straining the muscles on a daily basis, you need to learn how to release the tension on a regular basis, and it's not difficult to do this.
Wishing you well,
Julie