Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome or CTS, is the most common of the peripheral nerve conditions where the median nerve is compressed or pinched at the wrist.  The resulting symptoms of numbness/pain in the wrist, index, third, and forth fingers, multiple sleep interruptions, frequent shaking and flicking of the hand/fingers, difficulty in gripping or pinching such as buttoning a shirt, threading a needle, lifting a coffee cup, frequent dropping of objects, the inability to perform work duties – especially fast, repetitive work tasks can have a devastating effect on a person’s quality of life. … Read more…

“I’ve been working on the line for 13 years and started noticing periodic tingling in my fingers.  It didn’t last long and I didn’t think about it much.  It gradually became more frequent and wouldn’t go away when I changed my activity or shook my hand or fingers.  It started to really grab my attention when I started to drop things out of my hand and couldn’t open jars as easily.  That’s when I decided to see what was wrong.  I didn’t know who to go to so I went to my family doctor and he diagnosed carpal tunnel syndrome.  He gave me a splint to wear at night and some anti-inflammatory drugs that irritated my stomach, so I quit the drugs.  The splint helped me sleep and I didn’t wake up as often.  The doctor was talking about surgery to un-pinch the nerve at my wrist if it didn’t get better soon, but I overheard some co-workers talk about seeing a chiropractor for their carpal tunnel problems and how much better they felt so I decided to try it.

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In our clinic, we see patients frequently with CTS.  If is a very common condition and usually responds well to the non-surgical chiropractic treatment approaches including hand, wrist, elbow, shoulder and/or neck manipulation, Myofascial release techniques, wrist splint use – especially at night, work station evaluation and modifications, physiotherapy modality use, such as electrical stimulation, low level laser therapy, pulsed ultrasound, therapeutic exercises, as well as other treatment approaches. 

CTS symptoms include numbness, tingling, or half asleep sensations in the hand involving the palm and 2^nd, 3^rd, and thumb side of the 4^th fingers.  Sometimes, there is weakness in the grip strength with frequent dropping of objects or difficulty unscrewing jars commonly reported.  Waking at night and needing to shake or flick the fingers to “…wake them up” is common.  Driving due to holding onto the steering wheel with the wrist bent, holding a book or newspaper, buttoning a shirt, and threading a needle, can all become challenging when the median nerve which goes through the carpal tunnel is pinched.  … Read more…

You are driving down the road and you notice numbness and tingling in your fingers.  You find temporary help by shaking and flicking the fingers, trying to “wake them up.” You’ve also noticed your sleep is becoming interrupted and the need to shake and flick the fingers in the middle of the night is becoming more frequent.  If this sounds like you or someone you know, you’re not alone.  This condition affects many workers as well as “stay-at-home moms,” as women are 3 times more likely to develop CTS due in part that the carpal tunnel itself is smaller than those in men. Also, women tend to work faster in fast, repetitive jobs, and are often hired specifically for that reason.  Further, when workers are paid by the number of pieces they produce, the tendency is to try completing as many pieces as possible so as to make that much more over their base hourly wage. … Read more…