No matter what type of pain you have, whether in your back, legs, feet, or hands, you’re likely going to be looking for some type of relief. And if you have carpal tunnel syndrome, you probably feel aches and pains every time you use your hands. Correspondingly, since you likely use your hands a lot during the day, this can prove to be quite painful if you’re dealing with carpal tunnel.

Carpal tunnel can be a debilitating condition and it often gets worse over time. If you’ve been having pains in your wrist or fingers, or in the palms of your hands, chances are that you’ve developed carpal tunnel.

The good news is that a chiropractor can help treat carpal tunnel. This is because the alignment of bone and tissue in the neck and spine can play a role in the prevention and treatment of carpal tunnel syndrome.

Are you experiencing pain caused by carpal tunnel? Reach out to Excellence in Health and see how an experienced chiropractor can help.

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What is Carpal Tunnel Syndrome?

Carpal tunnel syndrome is a fairly common condition that affects the hands, usually causing pain, tingling, numbness, or the overall weakening of the hands. In fact, carpal tunnel has often been identified in those who use their hands a lot for work, such as anyone who works in a clerical field and spends a lot of time typing on a keyboard.

Carpal tunnel is also sometimes referred to as median nerve compression. And this is because when there is pressure on your median nerve – the nerve that runs down your arm and helps to control movement and feeling in your thumb, index, middle, and ring finger – this can lead to carpal tunnel syndrome.

The carpal tunnel space is where the median nerve meets the hand. So, if anything irritates or compresses this nerve directly in the carpal tunnel region, it can cause pain, tingling, or numbness in the hands. And keep in mind that while this pain often radiates and then subsides over time, it can progressively become worse and even more painful and debilitating.

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What are the Symptoms of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome?

Initially, many people who develop carpal tunnel are often misdiagnosed with arthritis. But the symptoms of carpal tunnel are not universal to each and every person. However, many of the following symptoms are considered common to many of those who have been diagnosed with carpal tunnel:

• Weakness in the hands
• Fingers become numb at random
• Itching, burning, or tingling in the hands and fingers
• Trouble forming a closed fist
• Tingling sensations that travel up the arm
• Swollen fingers

You should also note that the pinky finger is not affected by the median nerve. In fact, when a person has carpal tunnel, they often claim that their pinky feels like the strongest finger on the hand. However, as mentioned, these symptoms are not universal, and each case of carpal tunnel is unique which is why a non-medicinal, holistic approach can often help with the treatment and prevention of carpal tunnel.

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How Can a Chiropractor Help With the Prevention and Treatment of Carpal Tunnel?

As mentioned previously, carpal tunnel typically develops when the median nerve is compressed. But this nerve starts in the cervical spine – the group of bones that form the neck. Pressure to the median nerve can occur at several points along the nerve path, including within your cervical spine region, the brachial plexus region, as the nerve travels by the pronator teres, or in the carpal tunnel region of your hand. This is why a chiropractor can offer a great solution to the treatment and prevention of carpal tunnel.

Chiropractors have special expertise in nerve entrapment or impingement syndromes. Additionally, as carpal tunnel can affect 3 to 6 percent of adults in the United States, many medical doctors suggest invasive or aggressive treatments for this condition – often recommending surgery to correct the problem. However, chiropractic care offers a safe and effective, non-invasive treatment for this condition.

A chiropractor can help determine if your carpal tunnel problems are being caused in the upper spine, or in the arm and hands.

For example, if the problems are emanating from the spine, your chiropractor may focus on relieving pressure on the nerve through a series of spinal alignment methods in order to provide pain relief. If your symptoms are the result of pressure in the hand or arm, your chiropractor may manipulate your wrist or elbow to help relieve pressure on the nerve.

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What Causes Carpal Tunnel Syndrome?

A chiropractor can accurately diagnose carpal tunnel syndrome through a series of tests. However, diagnosing the underlying cause of the condition can be difficult because locating the source of nerve compression, impingement, or entrapment could be located anywhere along the median nerve. And the cause of carpal tunnel syndrome may be one of the following:

• Hereditary
• Underlying health conditions (such as arthritis or diabetes)
• Incorrect usage of the hand and wrist
• Any prolonged movements that place pressure on the median nerve (baseball, cycling, etc.)
• Repetitive usage of the hands and wrist (typing, chopping, or other manual work)

While the repetitive motion of the hands and wrist and prolonged pressure on the median nerve are often the most common causes of carpal tunnel, you may also be experiencing carpal tunnel because the carpal tunnel region of your hand may be smaller than usual. This is often hereditary, and as such, may make you more prone to the development of carpal tunnel syndrome.

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Can Carpal Tunnel Get Better Without Treatment?

Unfortunately, symptoms of carpal tunnel often get worse over time. And while there have been some cases where carpal tunnel symptoms have been spontaneously reduced over time, this is not usually a typical scenario.

The fact is, carpal tunnel syndrome makes your hands weaker. As you lose strength in your hands, performing everyday tasks can become quite difficult and painful. And even tasks as simple as holding your cell phone can cause significant pain. Additionally, not being able to hold objects firmly can be dangerous, especially if you work in a field that requires you to operate heavy equipment.

A few activities that can become difficult when you have carpal tunnel may include:

• Driving
• Writing
• Opening jars
• Opening doors
• Typing
• Texting
• Holding objects
• Gripping too tightly

If left untreated, carpal tunnel can actually lead to permanent damage to the median nerve. And permanent damage to this nerve can then lead to chronic and even more painful symptoms that can be debilitating. As such, early diagnosis and treatment can mitigate the progression of carpal tunnel syndrome before your symptoms become too severe.

Keep in mind that carpal tunnel can make it difficult to perform most daily tasks and that it can become progressive often requiring the use of prescription medication in order to manage pain.

In addition, severe damage to the median nerve can lead to advanced problems with carpal tunnel, and this is often referred to as carpal tunnel disease which is often treated through invasive surgery. But with preventative chiropractic treatment, pain from carpal tunnel syndrome can often be alleviated without invasive surgery.

Are you interested in learning how a chiropractor can help treat carpal tunnel syndrome? Reach out to Excellence in Health and see how a licensed chiropractor can help.