Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is a condition caused by repetitive motion, often of the arm and wrist, and it typically affects people that operate computers, cash registers, musical instruments, etc.
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome occurs when the median nerve, which runs from the forearm into the hand, becomes pressed or squeezed at the wrist. The median nerve controls sensations to the palm side of the thumb and fingers, as well as impulses to some small muscles in the hand that allow the fingers and thumb to move. The carpal tunnel is a narrow, rigid passageway of ligament and bones at the base of the hand, which houses the median nerve and tendons. Sometimes, irritated tendons and swelling narrows the tunnel and causes the median nerve to be compressed. The result may be pain, weakness, or numbness in the hand and wrist, radiating up the arm. Although painful sensations may indicate other conditions, carpal tunnel syndrome is the most common and widely known of the entrapment neuropathies in which the body’s peripheral nerves are compressed or traumatized.
Symptoms usually start gradually, with frequent burning, tingling, or itching numbness in the palm of the hand and the fingers, especially the thumb and the index and middle fingers. Some carpal tunnel sufferers say their fingers feel useless and swollen, even though little or no swelling is apparent. The symptoms often first appear in one or both hands during the night, since many people sleep with flexed wrists.
A person with carpal tunnel syndrome may wake up feeling the need to “shake out” the hand or wrist. As symptoms worsen, people might feel tingling during the day. Decreased grip strength may make it difficult to form a fist, grasp small objects, or perform other manual tasks. In chronic and/or untreated cases, the muscles at the base of the thumb may waste away. Some people are unable to tell between hot and cold by touch.
Other contributing factors include trauma or injury to the wrist that cause swelling, such as sprain or fracture; over activity of the pituitary gland; hypothyroidism; rheumatoid arthritis; mechanical problems in the wrist joint; work stress; repeated use of vibrating hand tools; fluid retention during pregnancy or menopause; or the development of a cyst or tumor in the canal.
Chiropractic treatment, which directly releases pressure on the nerves, is highly beneficial to carpal tunnel syndrome patients. After a thorough examination, your chiropractic doctor will perform specific adjustments where needed, to help normalize structure and reduce nerve irritation. When given time, conservative chiropractic care has produced excellent results for those with carpal tunnel problems, without drugs or surgery.
Women are three times more likely than men to develop carpal tunnel syndrome, perhaps because the carpal tunnel itself may be smaller in women than in men. The dominant hand is usually affected first and produces the most severe pain. Persons with diabetes or other metabolic disorders that directly affect the body’s nerves and make them more susceptible to compression are also at high risk. Carpal tunnel syndrome usually occurs only in adults. The risk of developing carpal tunnel syndrome is not confined to people in a single industry or job, but is especially common in people performing assembly line work – manufacturing, sewing, finishing, cleaning, and meat, poultry, or fish packing.
At the workplace, workers can do on-the-job conditioning, perform stretching exercises, take frequent rest breaks, wear splints to keep wrists straight, and use correct posture and wrist position. Workstations, tools and tool handles, and tasks can be redesigned to enable the worker’s wrist to maintain a natural position during work.
A brace is often prescribed to help protect the wrist and reduce mobility. While it may alleviate certain symptoms, it virtually ignores the malfunctioning joints causing the problem. The chiropractic approach is to help restore proper motion to affected joints and strengthen supporting muscles and soft tissues. While this may require some type of ongoing supportive care, many patients are able to resume their activities without bracing.
Chiropractic is a healing system that focuses on the structure of the body. Research has proved that chiropractic treatment can be beneficial for many muscle and joint problems. Chiropractic is a branch of the healing arts based on the scientific fact that our nervous system controls or influences the function of every cell in our body. Interference to the nervous system (caused by the vertebral subluxation complex) will effect how the nervous system relates to the cell to which it travels.
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