Chiropractic vs. Traditional Medical Care When It Comes to Treating Carpal Tunnel
Carpal tunnel syndrome is a painful disorder that affects the wrists and hands. It is brought on by receptive motion in use of the hands. This is especially true of those who work on a computer all day every day for years. If you noticed tinging and numbness in your hands especially along the nerve that runs throughout the wrist (the median nerve) it is a good idea to get it checked out by your doctor.
When it comes to care for carpal tunnel you do have options. These treatment options vary greatly between medical and chiropractic care.
As the condition develops further, feelings of non-specific pain can begin to make themselves felt in the hands. You may notice that your hands begin to “fall asleep” or grow completely numb in the early morning. They may require manual rubbing or massaging to get past that painful tingling feeling in order to get them back to working and some semblance of normalcy.
If the condition worsens becoming acute or chronic symptoms may start to spread up the arms even all the way to the shoulder. Further progression may begin to affect the muscles of the thumbs which become weak causing the hand to have more difficulty gripping objects likes glasses and cups. In approaching the final stages of this disorder cause atrophy of the muscles in the thumbs rendering them all but useless as far as dexterity.
The traditional medical approach is to correct via surgery. There are two main kinds of surgery for this disorder. Carpal tunnel release surgery offers open or endoscopic. In both procedures the surgeon will cut the ligament around the carpal tunnel to take the pressure off the median nerve. This relieves the symptoms of pain and numbness. Post-surgery the ligament heals back together but with more room for the nerve to pass through. While this surgery has a very high success rate, coming in at 90% healing time and down time can extend for months and take time for all the nerves to reconnect. Even after surgery, however, the symptoms may continue. Use of arnica cream topically can help to speed the healing after a carpal tunnel surgery, or any other surgical procedure.
Chiropractic takes a more noninvasive rehabilitation approach. Chiropractors have been specially trained to know that if the hands are showing signs of pain or tingling that the first place to look is the neck, at the cervical spine.
While this may seem strange it is actually very logical. The region of the cervical spine in the neck is where the nerves that ultimately end in the hands where they have their beginning.
By manipulating the neck, your chiropractor can relieve the pressure on the nerves that extend down into your hands. This can help to reduce irritation or remove it completely so that the body can begin to heal itself by allowing nerve force to flow freely as it was intended.
Before jumping into an expensive painful surgery, come see us at the office of Dr. Jason Kaster, D.C. in Fort Myers, Florida 239-332-2555 www.kasterchiropractic.com.