Q: I am a regular reader of your column and appreciate the helpful health tips, especially the home remedies.
I have a simple but very practical solution that may help at least some people who suffer from carpal tunnel syndrome. What worked for me was to lie on my back on the bed and place my wrists, one at a time, between the back of my head and the pillow. I apply pressure from the back of my skull onto the wrist and slide my wrist this way and that. I literally hear the small bones in my wrists as they slip back into place! This is used daily or whenever I remember to do it and I always have good results.
I hope this helps your readers.
A: Carpal tunnel syndrome is a condition that causes tingling and numbness at the site of a person’s wrist(s). The carpal tunnel itself is a passageway on the palm side of the wrist. Its purpose is to protect the primary nerve to the hand and the nine tendons that allow a person to bend his or her fingers. Symptoms that may wax and wane occur when this nerve is compressed; however, as the condition progresses, symptoms will be constant and more pronounced. Carpal tunnel commonly begins gradually, affecting the thumb, index and middle finger and may travel from the wrist site up the arm. The small finger is not affected with the syndrome.
Causes may include swelling and inflammation from rheumatoid arthritis, or a wrist fracture that can narrow the carpal tunnel and stress the nerve. Then there are other instances in which no condition can be determined. Those at an increased risk for the condition include women being more prone than men. The explanation for this may be that the carpal tunnel is generally smaller in females than it is in men. Individuals with diabetes, thyroid disorders, kidney failure and obesity may have a bearing on the development. Then, a common possibility is a person’s employment if he or she works on a production or assembly line, a carpenter who repeatedly uses a hammer to pound nails, or a jack hammer worker utilizing tools that vibrate. The prolonged and repeated pressure on the wrist may cause excessive stress to the median nerve.
Diagnosis may be made by a physician performing a hand exam. An EMG may be ordered to measure the electrical activity of a person’s muscles, or a nerve conduction study (a variation of an electromyogram) might be ordered to determine if electrical impulses are lessened in the carpal tunnel.
Initial self-treatment may include taking breaks throughout the day to rest the hands, avoiding those activities that exacerbate symptoms, stretching the palms/wiggling the fingers/performing wrist rotation exercises, and applying a cold pack to help reduce inflammation. When these steps fail to provide improvement, common therapy may be achieved with the assistance of a wrist splint, taking over-the-counter non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, or corticosteroids if improvement isn’t discovered with more conservative methods. It should be noted that there is no substantiating evidence documented that OTCs will be an effective course of treatment and acupuncture has been helpful. Lastly, surgical intervention, either in the form of endoscopy or an open procedure, might be discussed with your physician.
Your method of control is essentially effective – not because you can hear and feel the bones at the site of your wrist moving around – but because you are exercising the site and releasing some of the pressure placed on your muscles and tendons. Keep up the good work and thank you for sharing your home therapy method.
