Carpal Tunnel Syndrome can be a very tricky issue for many.
The current medical options are steroid injections, anti-inflammatories, braces and physical therapy.
Eventually the only option the patient has left is surgery.
The disorder summarized is an overuse of the muscles in the front of the forearm. These muscles are called the flexors and work to flex the fingers, curl the fingers, flex the wrist, and rotate the wrist as if your were using a screwdriver.
The majority of carpal tunnel cases are repititive use cases. Meaning in your job or hobby, you overuse these muscles until they become excessively tight.
To fix carpal tunnel naturally you must take a functional look from the fingers to the neck, shoulder and scapula. Usually several areas are involved in your symptoms.
Other options to consider when trying to fix your Carpal Tunnel Syndrome:
- Chiropractic Care on the joints of the wrist, especially the lunate bone can be very helpful in the care of Carpal Tunnel.
- Many times the symptoms of tingling and loss of sensation can also be from the neck and shoulder. This is titled the “double crush” syndrome. Chiropractic care of the joints of the cervical spine and cervico-thoracic junction can help the nerve function restore to the hand.
- Weak scapular muscles can cause the scapula to “wing” and the ability to support your arm and hand movements becomes diminished. We often see patients with weak scapular muscles have to grip much harder and use their hand and wrist disproportionately. This causes the flexor muscles to tighten.
- The scalene muscles are the gateway for a Plexus of nerves (group of nerves) to leave the neck and transmit nerve signal to the hand. Tight scalens are often implicated as well.
- Fascial Adhesion: With enough overuse of the muscle and tendons, the cellular makeup of the fascia, and muscle will change. The area will become fibrotic, or tougher, and eventually inflamed. The techniques we employ at Mountain Movement involve breaking up scar tissue with hands on and tool based therapies.
Hands-On & Tool Based Therapy
- Active Release
- MyoFascial release
- IASTM
- Percussion
These can all be very useful in the treatment of carpal tunnel. The melt method and lessons on self mobility and strength can also prove very useful for hand and wrist pain.
