Quote - Most cases of Carpal Tunnel Sydrome start at the neck and can be treated with alternative treatments other than surgery.

This can often be the case.  Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is one of htose oddball things which can actually start anywhere along the chain.  If it's in the neck it's usually Thoracic Outlet syndrome - working on the scalene muscles can help that.
Other things are the actual muscles themselves.  remember that the muscles are thactive part in all this - if they become overdeveloped, scarred or otherwise out of balance, the position of their tendons is going to change, and this will lead to the tendons becoming inflamed, i.e. you get CTS.

Get to see a devent physical therapist - either a good physiotherapist or someone like myself (I do Sports & Holistic Therapy, which basically means I treat every man and his dog...well ok, not his dog) mainly with massage techniques.

It can have a really profound effect.  Geting everyone involved, from your GP to a therapist can really pay dividends.  TENS are great for easing the pain, and other forms of EMS (muscle stimulation) can help with gentle exercise in order to keep the muscles working.

Ultimately you need to get the root cause diagnosed.  Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is more of a symptom than a cause.