Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

MHZ — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 22:48:16 +0000

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is a serious health problem that results in over two million doctor visits a year. It occurs when the Median Nerve is impinged along its course through the arm. The first place area of impingement is usually in the Carpal Tunnel, a small opening in the wrist, which is surrounded by bones, tendons and a thick ligament. It is the most common nerve impingement in the upper extremity.
The symptoms of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome include: Numbness, aching, “pins and needles” sensation and tingling in the thumb, index finger, middle finger and the side of the ring finger near the middle finger. Intense pain, burning sensations or tingling, which is usually worse at night and wakes the person, then is relieved by vigorously shaking the hands. Muscle weakness and muscle atrophy of the thumb. Loss of vibration sense in the fingers and thumb. The person may also experience loss of finger and thumb dexterity and coordination, inability to perform precision gripping motions and a “swollen” sensation in the fingers even though swelling may not be present. Pain or abnormal sensations may begin to occur further up the arm along the course of the medial nerve from the armpit to the wrist.
The causes are over-use, improper arm, hand and wrist positioning and constant repetitive use of the upper extremities. This is referred to as repetitive sprain injury or accumulative trauma disorder.
Activities such as computer work, typing, playing a musical instrument, knitting, sewing, driving, assembly line work, using hand tools that vibrate, meat packing, holding a book or newspaper, golfing, weight lifting and mountain biking, are just some of the activities that contribute to Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.
To prevent the occurrence or worsening of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, always use proper positioning of the arms, wrists and hands while working and move and shake your hands around whenever you have a chance to take a short break. Try to vary your activity so that you are not performing the same motion repetitively without rest or change. Try not to do things that require you to bend or squeeze your fingers while your wrist is bent. Try keeping your wrist straight when grasping tools. Also, wearing a splint or wrist support that keeps the wrist straight may help relieve the nighttime symptoms. Combining all or some of these and using common sense should help prevent the occurrence or worsening of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.
Carpal Tunnel syndrome is a repetitive sprain injury, so seek medical attention as soon as you experience any of its symptoms. Waiting to see if “it will go away,” only makes the symptoms worse and prolongs the healing and rehabilitation process. When a nerve is impinged scar tissue begins to form and traps the nerve to the surrounding tissues. This causes impingement or entrapment of the nerve at numerous locations throughout its course and makes the condition affect a larger area. Also, when the wrists and hands are not functioning properly, greater demand is placed on the forearms, elbows, shoulders and neck leading to injury, pain and symptoms in those areas.
If you have carpal tunnel syndrome, consider seeing a chiropractor.
Some of the proven effective treatments of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is chiropractic joint mobilization to the spine and the entire upper extremity to restore proper nerve flow. Gentle muscle work along the course of the muscles of the upper extremity to ease long-standing muscle tension and increase pain free range of motion. Nerve sliding exercises to increase the sliding between the nerves and the surrounding tissues to help lessen the negative effect of the scar tissue entrapment. Low impact exercises, like yoga and stretching that increase flexibility and blood flow and decrease muscle tension. These medical and exercise procedures and the everyday activities mentioned earlier are the key ingredients to improving the symptoms and removing the sources of carpal tunnel syndrome.

Donald A. Ozello DC is the owner and treating doctor at Championship Chiropractic, 2595 S. Cimarron Rd, Las Vegas, NV 89117. 702 286-9040.

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Carpal Tunnel Syndrome