Carpal Tunnel

What Is Carpal Tunnel Syndrome?

Carpal tunnel syndrome occurs when a nerve called the median nerve gets pinched or compressed.  The median nerve starts in the forearm and ends in the palm of your hand. Inside your wrist exactly where it meets your arm, right under where you can see your veins, there are little tube-like tunnels where your nerves run through. It’s when these tubes tighten around your nerves that carpal tunnel syndrome occurs. The median nerve gives you feeling in all of your fingers except your pinky and controls some muscles at the base of your thumb, according to the National Institute of Health (NIH). 

woman suffering from carpal tunnel

How Does Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Develop?

Carpal tunnel syndrome is one of the most common conditions Americans develop usually due to overuse, like typing on a keyboard or cell phone nowadays. Performing constant functions with your fingers like controlling a computer mouse, using a calculator, sewing, or finite electrical work can lead to those tunnels closing in on your median nerve. Sometimes it is a combination of factors that lead to this condition and it’s rare one single cause can be determined.  Other things that lead to developing carpal tunnel are trauma to the wrist, fluid retention from pregnancy or menopause, a cyst or tumor in or near the tunnel, issues with your pituitary or thyroid glands, and even rheumatoid arthritis, NIH said.

The Symptoms of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

Various symptoms typically gradually occur that people don’t realize are all connected. Sometimes you may feel burning in your wrist or fingers, tingling in the fingers or even itching in the palm of your hand. Sometimes patients will say their fingers feel swollen even though they aren’t visually.  The numbness, burning and tingling typically happen in the index and middle fingers and thumb. Symptoms tend to happen at night while someone is sleeping since their wrists aren’t moving. Shaking out your wrists when you wake up or during the day is often a sign that the condition is developing.  As it gets worse, symptoms will occur during the day, grip strength often weakens, you are unable to grab small objects, or even may not be able to tell the difference between hot or cold, according to NIH.

How a Chiropractor Can Help

After undergoing lab work, ultrasounds, and an EMG to check the nerve responses in the wrist, you can be diagnosed with carpal tunnel syndrome. Some patients choose to undergo surgery to fix it, medicines or even steroid injections, but there are other holistic ways to cope with the condition. At Fayetteville Accident and Injury Center Fayetteville Accident & Injury Center, after a standard exam of your hands, arms and neck, your chiropractor will also assess your spine. Your chiropractor’s first goal will be to relieve your pain holistically, so your doctor will probably brace your wrist to prevent further aggravation, have you use ice packs at home to reduce the swelling and teach you exercises to help stretch out and strengthen the muscles around the carpal tunnel.  Your chiropractor can also manipulate your joints, use soft-tissue massaging techniques and even teach you yoga positions that can help ease the carpal tunnel syndrome. These techniques can actually cure the carpal tunnel syndrome and you would have to continue exercises and stretches just to prevent it from coming back. 

Call Our Chiropractor in Fayetteville, NC Today!

If you are experiencing these symptoms or have already been diagnosed with carpal tunnel syndrome and are in the Fayetteville, NC area, call us at (910) 484-2001, stop in and see us, or even make an appointment on our website at https://www.fayettevilleaccident.com/. We are ready to help you get rid of your pain today!

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