Why You Should Consider Chiropractic Care for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
Every year, numerous people are diagnosed with CTS (carpal tunnel syndrome). Some of the symptoms of CTS include numbness, tingling, pain and burning in some parts of your hands and wrists.
It may also cause weakness in the hands. As such you might have issues when grasping things. This may affect your ability to hold a pen or hold a cup of coffee.
Carpal tunnel sydrome is seen in most age groups and across all races. Whether you are a high school student or office worker using a computer or a factory worker, all are susceptible to carpal tunnel syndrome.
What You Need To Know About Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
As a result, there’s limited feeling and movement in a few portions of your hand.
Women have a 3 times higher likelihood of being diagnosed with CTS than men. That’s because the carpal tunnel found in the female hand is smaller than that of men.
CTS cases are often complicated since it’s tough to pinpoint the cause of the condition. However, there is research on the condition that indicates it might be caused by repetitive hand motions such as people in construction work, typing and factory work.
However, there’s some evidence that suggests genetics might play a role in the condition too. On the other hand, since a few people have a smaller carpal tunnel than others, they are more likely going to suffer from it.
Note that, it’s tough to diagnose the condition in the carpal region.
One way to diagnose the condition is with a nerve conduction test. This diagnostic test, a nerve conduction test, measures how fast the nerve impulses travel along a nerve. The nerve provides sensation to the hand or wrist. If the nerve impulses travel slowly, the patient may have pinched nerves in the tunnel which may cause symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome.
Nerve conduction studies are a great way of helping health care professionals diagnose carpal tunnel syndrome. This is especially true for carpal tunnel and auto accidents.
This can lead to pain numbness and tingling in the hand or index and middle finger or worse, nerve damage. These are all a symptom of carpal tunnel issues.
Most people suffering from it have another condition that displays similar symptoms including arthritis, disc degeneration (especially in the cervical spine causing some irritation to the median nerve) and subluxations and many more.
Causes of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
The pain inside your carpal tunnel is a result of excessive pressure in your wrist and especially the pressure on the median nerve.
This is one of many neurological disorders which affects wrists and hands.
Patients with carpal tunnel need to look at the root origin and complications of carpal tunnel.
The most common cause of the inflammation and its resulting pressure is typically an underlying medical condition which is causing the swelling in the wrist and may obstruct the flow of blood and eventually cause pain.
Some of the more common conditions associated with carpal tunnel syndrome include:
- Diabetes
- Thyroid disorder
- Fluid retention from maternity or menopause
- Elevated blood pressure
- Autoimmune disorders like rheumatoid arthritis
- Fractures or injury to the wrist
- Repetetive motion
- Trauma to the wrist
- Hand injuries
- Car accident injuries
Repetitive motion of the wrist leads to swelling and compression of the median nerve. This can be a consequence of the positioning of your wrist such as at a computer keyboard or the utilization of a mouse, increasing pressure on the nerve which will cause pain.
Common Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Symptoms
- numbness, tingling, and pain in your thumb and the first three fingers of your hand.
- pain and burning that travels up your arm
- wrist pain at night that interferes with sleep
- weakness in the muscles of the hand
- chronic hand pain
People who have autoimmune arthritis such as rheumatoid arthritis or psoriatic arthritis may also feel tired or unwell.
Treatment of Carpal Tunnel Options
One of the popular surgeries for people suffering from CTS is the carpal tunnel release. However, there’s new research suggesting that the surgery doesn’t provide relief from the symptoms as expected.
As mentioned, there are issues with diagnosis and tests but some of the popularly used treatment options include injecting steroids into the median nerve among other invasive treatments.
Non-invasive care might include using a physical therapist to treat common conditions such as trigger fingers as well as using certain release techniques. It’s a huge concern considering most of the recommended surgical treatments are unsuccessful at relieving wrist pain.
Some nonsurgical treatments include the use of wrist splints for relieving symptoms. Other home remedies also include the use of topical pain relieving creams.
How Can Chiropractic Treatment Help With CTS?
If you suspect you’re suffering from CTS, you should consider non-invasive treatments first such with a Charlotte chiropractic clinic (and if it is the result of injury a sports medicine chiropractor).
Most people overlook this and other alternative treatments but notable institutions in the medical niche have approved of this form of pain management as a good treatment for CTS.
The median nerve is the only nerve that passes through the carpal tunnel. The chiropractor will check and identify any interference in the spinal vertebrae causing compression on your nerves whose symptoms may be associated with neck pain.
He/she will utilize methods such as gentle wrist manipulation and move to your elbow and spine for the best results.
If not treated, CTS can cause permanent damage to your thumb or whole hand leading to carpal tunnel surgery and potential repeated hand surgeries by orthopedic surgeons for reconstruction surgery.
If you suspect that you’re suffering from the condition, you can always look for a chiropractor to help you with carpal tunnel treatment. Such manipulation techniques will jump-start the healing process and potentially prevent an invasive surgery. Do your research to identify the best chiropractor in your region for the best results.
If you are having issues with carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) in the Charlotte NC area, you should request an appointment with your Charlotte chiropractor for evaluation of symptoms and treatment options.
To your health,
Tebby Chiropractic and Sports Medicine Clinic
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