Carpal Tunnel Syndrome – It May Not Be Just in Your Wrist
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is categorized as a repetitive stress injury which affects the wrist and hand. It is caused by compression of the median nerve. The media nerve supplies innervation to the thumb, index finger, middle finger and 1/2 of the ring finger (in addition to part of the palm). Carpal Tunnel Syndrome symptoms include burning pain, numbness and tingling to the above referenced areas. Occasionally, there is also atrophy (shrinking and weakness) to some of the muscles in the hand (around the palm muscles).
As was mentioned earlier, carpal tunnel syndrome involves the median nerve. This nerve begins in the cervical (neck) region of the spine. It then travels down to the armpit (where the brachial plexus is – a complex web of nerves). From there, the media nerve travels down the arm, past the elbow, into the forearm and then into the wrist, hand and fingers. Anywhere along the path that the nerve travels, it has the potential to get injured.
When a peripheral nerve such as the median nerve gets compressed or crushed in two or more areas, that is called a “double crush syndrome” or a “double crush injury”. This condition was first described in a British medical journal called the Lancet (in 1973).
The three most common areas for the median nerve to get compressed are 1) In the neck – (especially after a whiplash injury); 2) in the forearm (especially around the “pronator teres” muscle, as the median nerve runs through the belly of the pronator teres, and when that muscle goes into spasm, it crushes the nerve; and 3) in the carpal tunnel itself (which is a tunnel in the wrist that contains nine flexor tendons and the median nerve). When the flexor tendons are irritated, they become inflamed and swell up, and in doing so, crush the little median nerve which also runs through the same pathway.
The medical approach to treating carpal tunnel syndrome includes pain pills, steroid injections and surgery. All of these have a rather poor track record. The drugs don’t fix the problem, they just mask symptoms. You may buy some time, but ultimately it’s going to catch up to you. And the surgery, in addition to having a poor success rate (57% of all surgeries fail – according to the research), there’s also a risk of scar tissue formation, wrist instability and other long term problems.
There is a better approach to treating carpal tunnel syndrome. These methods address all areas of potential involvement (at the spine, in the arm and at the wrist). The key is to take the pressure off the median nerve wherever it may be happening. Before you undergo carpal tunnel release surgery, make sure you are fully evaluated to make sure you don’t have problems in other areas.
Dr. Kevin Smith
Red Apple Wellness
http://www.redapplewellness.net
724-941-6800
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