What is Carpal Tunnel Syndrome?
Do you have a repetitive job that keeps you using your wrists, elbows, shoulders, or are you sitting at the computer all day? Are you feeling any Carpal Tunnel Symptoms? Carpal Tunnel is a type of entrapment neuropathy that chiropractic care can effectively treat, and if symptoms are caught early enough it can often be prevented.
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is a form of compressive neuropathology that affects the median nerve down the arm. The median nerve controls the nerves that supply the feeling and movement in the hands. The median nerve comes from the neck and runs down through the elbow into the forearm, which then passes into the carpal tunnel in the wrist on the palm side of the hand. This carpal tunnel is created from the transverse carpal ligament, and is formed by strong bands of ligaments and other types of connective tissue. Carpal tunnel syndrome can cause pain, numbness and inflammation in the wrist caused by repetitive movements. This inflammation puts pressure upon the median nerve and causes pain, tingling, and numbness within the median side of the hand within the thumb and first 3 fingers. Other causes that it could be from are arthritis, cysts, fractures, infections, alcohol abuse, obesity, or pregnancy.
Carpal Tunnel Symptoms can be very difficult to diagnose the reason and the causation behind the pain. These symptoms can evolve from a range of causes, not just the nerve impingement in the wrist. Chiropractic can help with this issue since it relates to the bones not only in the wrists, but also there could be a misalignment of your cervical spine, shoulder, or elbow that relates to the issue of where the pain is originating from. Manipulation of the carpal bones at the wrist, elbow, shoulder, or the upper cervical spine could be utilized to help in restoring motion and alignment of these bones. This manipulation or adjustment of the bones can relieve pressure on the area that the median nerve is passing through, as this will alleviate the stress upon the area and help the nerve and blood flow regenerate.
When looking at the common treatments of carpal tunnel syndrome, the use of chiropractic care, exercises, and other types of physical therapies has been shown to have positive results improving function of the wrists, and helping decrease the pain, tingling and numbness that have occurred in the hands regarding the median nerve entrapment.
Other options that are commonly used to help are diet and exercise routines, stretching and strengthening of the wrist muscles. Also, when looking at a person’s occupation, it would be protocol to use a wrist splint, massaging the wrists, look at the ergonomic work place settings, and eventually giving the wrists a rest.
Getting the relief you need, figuring out the cause or causes that have triggered these symptoms, and correcting the issue without any surgery is how chiropractic care can help and what its all about. Chiropractic can help relieve this additional pressure that is put upon the body. Call us today at (425) 868-9593 to setup your consultation to find out how we can help you live the pain free life you always wanted!
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