The carpal tunnel is a narrow passageway in your wrist, which is made up of bones and ligaments. Inside the carpal tunnel runs the median nerve, which is responsible for sensation and movement in the thumb and first three fingers.
When the tunnel is pinched or compressed, the median is affected resulting in numbness, tingling, weakness, or pain in the hand. Acute or chronic inflammation in the carpal tunnel can reduce the space in the tunnel and increase the pressure on median nerve.
Causes of Carpel Tunnel:
- Entrapment of the median nerve in the carpal tunnel.
- Overuse activity that requires repetitive flexion and extension of the wrist such as racket ball or badminton.
- Office workers are affect due to the wrist being held in a position where the hand and wrist are not in alignment for long periods of time.
- Cervical disc issues – herniation, stenosis.
Symptoms of Carpal Tunnel:
- Persistent dull ache with radiating pain and numbness in the thumb, index middle and half of the ring finger.
- Worse at night, feeling the hand has gone to sleep.
- Symptoms better with shaking or letting the effected hand hang out of the bed.
- Stiffness in the morning, better with movement.
- Potential for pain to radiate into the palm and forearm.
- Weakness in the hand
I approach treating your carpal tunnel syndrome to your presentation, which involves:
- What factors are causing the carpal tunnel to be inflamed?
- Discussing potential lifestyle dynamics impacting your wrist.
- Understanding how other factors such as stenosis or herniation play into your pain.
- Muscle testing the muscles comprising the arm for weakness and pain.
- Targeting effected muscles, releasing motor points, trigger points and relaxing the fascia
Providing exercises to continue treatment success between acupuncture treatments.
Call (914) 572-5137 today or click here to schedule an appointment & learn more about how we can help you.