Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is a painful and progressive condition that effects 3-6% of the population. The pain is often so severe that it keeps people awake at night and can interfere with work activities.
What Is Carpel Tunnel Syndrome?
The carpal tunnel is a narrow passageway that protects the main nerve to your hand and the tendons that bend your fingers. When the nerve becomes compressed, it produces pain, numbness and eventually weakness in the hand. Other symptoms include burning pain, coldness, or stiffness of the hand and or fingers. Unfortunately people that are most likely to develop carpal tunnel syndrome are those who use their hands a lot during gripping, keyboarding and other activities that use the wrist and finger fingers in a repetitive movement.
Some of the more common solutions include wearing a night splint, steroid injections, surgery and giving up the offending activities. Sometimes these work very well, other times they don’t.
Alternatives To Suffering
If you’re not ready to undergo surgery, or have had surgery and/or injections that haven’t given you relief for your carpal tunnel syndrome there is hope. Physical therapists who have specialized training can determine what is causing your pain. It’s not always as simple as it seems. Yes, the nerve can become pinched at the carpal tunnel. But what if it is also compressed in another area of the arm or even neck. The effect is known as a double crush syndrome. Think of the nerve behaving like a garden hose with running water. If you step on it, the flow decreases. If you step on the hose in another location, the flow decreases further. Releasing one area won’t fully restore the flow of water, just like treating carpal tunnel syndrome at the wrist isn’t always enough to get relief.
Knowing the true cause or causes of your pain is the first step in determining where the solution lies. If you have questions related to carpal tunnel syndrome, call one of our therapists who can help determine if you might be a candidate for our program.
