Carpal Tunnel
Carpal tunnel is the most over diagnosed condition I have ever seen in my years of practice. Most people who think they have carpal tunnel or who have been diagnosed with carpal tunnel by a doctor don’t really have carpal tunnel.
Its not that you aren’t having problems with your hands, it’s just that carpal tunnel is a very specific diagnosis. Most people who are having numbness and tingling and pain in their hands are actually experiencing a neck problem.
Because the nerves that go to your hands come right out of your neck, many hand problems are actually stemming from a pinched nerve in the neck even if you don’t have neck pain!
The first step is to make sure of the diagnosis. Whether it’s a true carpal tunnel, a neck problem or both.
In our clinic the first step is to perform a thorough evaluation of the hand, arm and neck to make sure we are treating you properly. If you have already had this done and the diagnosis has already been confirmed then we can get right into treatment.
Let’s get to the meat of why you are still reading this. What can we do to help you with your carpal tunnel symptoms? Over the years I have found a handful of great treatments that actually can help carpal tunnel symptoms significantly and have helped people avoid surgeries. Here is a rundown of our multifaceted approach to this problem:
- Class 4 Laser Treatment– This is like no other treatment you have seen. This is a state of the art laser that uses specific wavelengths of light that penetrate into the inflamed tissues of the wrist and hand to decrease inflammation, pain and increase blood flow to injured tissues. This is a accomplished by a process called photobiostimulation. Class 4 laser treatments are easy and painless and some people can experience symptom relief in just a few treatments.
- Manipulation of the bones of the wrist– Yes, you can adjust these bones just like spinal bones there are lots of little bones in your wrist and many times from old injuries or just over use the bones get stuck just like a spinal joint will and this can put extra stress on the nerves in your hand and create inflammation and pain.
- Massage– OK don’t get too excited about this one-it’s not the type of massage you might be used to. This type of massage for carpal tunnel may be kind of tender and it mostly focuses on the muscles of the forearm. These muscles can get jammed up and put pressure on the nerves going to the hand. This type of massage can release the nerves in the arm.
- Neck rehabilitation – If your hand symptoms are caused by a neck problem, this can be addressed by doing some traction, exercise, and possible manipulation of the neck to release the nerves irritation. Sometimes this is the only way to really get a good result with carpal tunnel -like symptoms.
So that’s it in a nutshell. These are the main treatments that we use for any patient with carpal tunnel or carpal tunnel type symptoms. It requires a multi-faceted approach that combines high tech and low tech in-office treatment with good home care techniques.
When done correctly, relief from pain can be very quick. People don’t necessarily think of chiropractic care as an option for treatment for carpal tunnel but your local Highlands Ranch chiropractor at Pinnacle Chiropractic can treat this very successfully.
If you are ready to give this a try call the office in Highlands Ranch, CO. All new patients will get a thorough examination and customized treatment plan no cookie cutter treatment here as each person’s case is very different.
I hope to see you soon!
P.S. feel free to use our current new patient special. For $37 you get your initial exam AND a free 60 minute massage at Hand and Stone.
P.P.S. you also may not even have to pay that much. We are in-network with most major insurance companies and some of these treatments may be covered under your insurance benefit. If you aren’t sure just contact us and we can check your benefits before you come in!
