True Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is a progressively painful condition caused by compression of a key nerve in the wrist. It occurs when the median nerve, which runs through the forearm into the hand, becomes pressed or squeezed at the wrist. Symptoms usually start gradually, with pain, weakness, or numbness in the hand and wrist, it may even radiate up the arm.
As symptoms worsen, people might feel tingling during the day, and decreased grip strength may make it difficult to form a fist, grasp small objects, or perform other manual tasks. The risk of developing carpal tunnel syndrome is especially common in those performing repetitive tasks such as those working at a computer or assembly line work.
What Causes Carpal Tunnel Syndrome?
In some cases no direct cause of the syndrome can be identified. Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is often accompanied by a “double crush syndrome” where the nerve is damaged or ”pinching” along its path from the neck, shoulder, and forearm into the wrist. The reasoning behind this double crush syndrome” is that once the nerve is damaged at the wrist it becomes more susceptible to injury elsewhere. Often times, the initial injury does not occur at the wrist but higher up at the neck. It is important that the nerve be examined along its entire path in order to properly determine the correct treatment plan. Addressing the damage at the wrist only (ie: carpal tunnel surgery) can be short sited and lead to poor long term outcomes.
Two prominent researchers, Dr. AR Upton and Dr. Alan McComas, found that nearly 80% of those who had CTS also had compression at the neck level called double crush syndrome. This makes sense and explains the high failure rate of CTS surgery. If the median nerve, which is responsible for CTS symptoms travels from the wrist, up the arm and into the nerves of the neck then we owe it to all CTS sufferers to properly have a system of evaluation to correct all pressure sites, no matter how subtle they are.
The nerve is like a telephone line in which two people are talking. The brain talks to the hand through the median nerve (telephone line). The nerve has the function of giving strength and sensation to the hand. Pressure on the nerve as it travels through the muscle of the arm, whether at the wrist, elbow, shoulder, brachial plexus or at the neck will cause the same symptoms: loss of strength and numbness in the hand. Have you ever heard significant static on a telephone line? But which end of the line is the bad connection coming from? The big picture is essential, which requires treatment to nerves from the neck down to the hand. This is why we have been successfully treating CTS for over 22 years! If you want to avoid drugs, cortisone and prevent surgery, then call our office at 925-829-8484 and schedule a free consultation today to determine if Dr. Widenbaum can help you too.
How do I achieve such great success with carpal tunnel victims?
Our clinical success comes from first determining exactly where the nerve is being pinched. We address every level of nerve involvement whether at the wrist, forearm, shoulder, neck or even in the cerebellum or parietal lobe of the brain. Peripheral nerve damage does affect the origin of the nerve in the brain too. If this is the case, we are well equipped to address this component of your condition.
You see, everything that happens to our body has a consequence to our brain, that’s right, EVERYTHING that we do has some type of affect on our BRAIN! So, let’s say you injured your hand or wrist, that injury must me dealt with at the cortical level. The brain’s DNA replicates in such a way (Immediate Early Gene Response) as to have lasting affects on that structure. Some of you reading this may not have ever injured your wrist but lo and behold you too have CTS! Remember that EVERYTHING that happens to us physically, chemically or emotionally has an affect on our brain, when brain is affected it’s OUTPUT may also be affected thus, you may have loss of EXTENSOR MUSCLE TONE allowing for a collapse of your carpal tunnel thereby causing you pain at the wrist/hand/arm without any discernible injury.
Your wrist problem may be a misalignment of one or more joints in your neck, shoulder, elbow or wrist.
By incorporating a unique series of treatments we can more thoroughly and quickly address your condition returning you back to normal daily activities. Treatments might include: Laser therapy, spinal decompression, wrist traction, oxygen therapy, shoulder, elbow and/or wrist adjustments, interferential current, russian stim, massage and nutritional support.
Click here to try this at-home carpal tunnel test.
If you would like a greater understanding of how we might help you, call our office at 925-829-8484 for a free carpal tunnel syndrome qualification consultation and evaluation.
