Have you recently experienced tingling, numbness, or pain in your hand or arm? It is quite possible that you may be suffering from carpal tunnel syndrome. Well, this condition is common in US individuals and targets around three to six percent of adults.
And since this condition is common, multiple treatments are available to treat its symptoms. Your healthcare provider may recommend treatments like surgery or steroid injection to treat carpal tunnel syndrome. However, if possible, try to avoid these invasive treatments as they come with a post-treatment recovery period, risks, and many side effects.
So, in this case, what treatment will be best to treat carpal tunnel with the least side effects and a quick recovery rate? The answer is simple; chiropractic care is the way to go if you want to recover from this condition fast and effectively. There are many questions regarding taking the help of a chiropractor for carpal tunnel. However, worry not, as this care is quite effective and safe for managing pain and provides complete recovery.
The best thing about chiropractic care is that it addresses the main cause of the pain through gentle hands-on manipulation and adjustments for long-lasting relief. So, let’s know how this care can help your condition. However, before that, a basic introduction to carpal tunnel syndrome.
Carpal tunnel syndrome, also called median nerve compression, is a condition that starts in your median nerve that connects your hand to the forearm. It is an area in the forearm that connects the wrists to the fingers and hands. You can spot it in both your left and right arms.
Carpal tunnel syndrome occurs due to the compressed median nerve, which can lead to common symptoms, including tingling, pain, and numbness.
There are many symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome; one must look for them, as not treating it timely can worsen your condition. Some of the most common symptoms of this syndrome include:
You will mainly experience these symptoms in your thumb, ring, middle, and index fingers, as well as your forearm and wrist. In addition, when this condition starts, individuals usually face mild and occasional symptoms. However, you should not avoid this tingling pain for a long time since, without proper treatment, your suffering can increase.
In this condition, a person may struggle to do fine motor tasks and hold items. Furthermore, leaving carpal tunnel syndrome without proper care for a long time, a person may even suffer permanent muscle and nerve damage.
If your state is severe, your healthcare provider may recommend surgery or corticosteroid injections, which can lead to many complications and side effects. However, you can go for a non-invasive treatment approach such as chiropractic care that is safe as well as effective with no major and manageable side effects.
While no known causes can lead to carpal tunnel syndrome, a few risk factors can increase your chances of developing this state. These risk factors are as follows:
Carpal tunnel syndrome is more common in women than men. The main reason behind this is that women have smaller carpal tunnel areas compared to men. Furthermore, women who develop this condition usually consist of smaller carpal tunnel areas compared to women who don’t develop it.
Conditions like Rheumatoid arthritis can affect the wrist, leading to more pressure on your median nerve.
Fluid retention can be a risk factor for this condition, as it can cause pressure within the carpal tunnel. Furthermore, people who are obese are more at risk of developing this state.
Issues regarding the wrist
For people that have dislocated or fractured their wrist or suffer from a condition such as arthritis, there are chances they may face the effect on their wrist’s small bones. As a result, an individual will experience pressure on the median nerve, which may result in the development of this state.
A person may even develop carpal tunnel syndrome, depending on their work type. A person is more at risk of developing this syndrome if they use vibrating tools or do work where flexing the wrist repeatedly is involved. The primary reason behind this is the constant pressure your median nerve faces, which can lead to damage.
Other than that, people who have a desk job often face carpal tunnel syndrome symptoms.
A chronic illness like diabetes can lead to nerve damage, which can further cause carpal tunnel.
Now, after knowing the symptoms and risk factors of carpal tunnel syndrome, you might be interested in knowing chiropractic care is better than invasive procedures such as surgery. Also, you may have another question: Can a chiropractor help with this condition?
Well, the one-liner answer is that chiropractors can help with carpal tunnel and may offer better results with minimal side effects comparatively. Chiropractic care is a non-invasive, amazing, and effective solution for treating this syndrome. Furthermore, this care can help deal with other pains and relieve strain, tension, and nerve compression using hands-on techniques and manual manipulations.
A chiropractor can use various approaches to offer relief from the pain, which we will discuss as we move further. These specialized treatments work toward realigning your body, bringing relief and healing directly to your pain source. And an experienced chiropractor will never start treating your condition when you visit their office. At the clinic, they will first learn about your entire body condition using multiple techniques and methods to know the exact cause of the pain in your carpal tunnel.
According to that, your chiropractor will start working toward finding the best hands-on treatment for pain. This can include problems in your upper spine, stress in the elbow or wrist, misalignment, or nerve pressure. Regardless of the primary cause of the pain, the chiropractor can use the best techniques and manual adjustments to offer relief from pressure. Furthermore, these hands-on techniques will realign your body, giving you pain relief right at the pain source.
Now, it is clear that a chiropractor can help treat carpal tunnel syndrome. However, the biggest question is, how exactly do these professionals help with this condition? Furthermore, what methods do chiropractic care include that are effective for treating such a state?
Although there are many treatments that can help treat CTS, chiropractic care mainly includes three treatment methods. These methods are quite effective in treating this condition and the pain that occurs due to it. The treatment methods are as follows:
Having your spine in a perfect alignment is quite crucial because misalignment of it can worsen carpal tunnel syndrome. This is where chiropractors shine, as they can use spinal manipulation that helps realign the spine back to its right position.
Well, mostly, these spinal adjustments or manipulations are done using hands. However, sometimes a chiropractor may use a special table or special devices primarily used for chiropractic care. Moreover, chiropractic care isn’t limited to the spine only. This means you can adjust even for your other body areas, like your wrist and arm.
This is another popular chiropractic care for carpal tunnel. Chiropractors use wrist supports to help align the wrist to the arm so the compression and pressure can be lowered. Furthermore, this care is normally taken to use as a preventative measure for a condition like carpal tunnel syndrome.
Your chiropractor may use this treatment with the more common ones, like spinal alignment, to prevent this condition from getting worse or developing in the first place.
For the third number, we have ultrasound therapy that chiropractors use to treat the symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome. In this particular treatment, the chiropractor makes use of sounds of both high and low energy, which human ears are incapable of hearing. A chiropractor will use a device to make these extremely focused sound waves. These waves then penetrate the patient’s tissue at a quite deep level.
The primary reason behind using ultrasound therapy is that this helps in lowering inflammation, relaxing muscles, and alleviating pain. Due to its effectiveness, it is sometimes used as a stand-alone therapy. However, in a few cases, this therapy can be taken in use with other chiropractic treatments.
The chiropractic treatments mentioned above are quite effective in managing carpal tunnel symptoms. However, sometimes, your chiropractor may recommend a dietary program or changes, as well as some exercises for your overall wellness. Together, these help the patient suffering from carpal tunnel syndrome and other conditions like that.
Now, after knowing the treatments a chiropractor can use to treat carpal tunnel, you may be curious about these treatments’ results. As mentioned, chiropractic care focuses on providing long-term pain relief and is quite effective at treating carpal tunnel syndrome.
So, let’s explore these four ways a chiropractor can help you with:
Well, this goes without saying that chiropractic care’s primary focus is to help lower the inflammation in the affected area. Your chiropractor will find the root cause of the pain, meaning they will look for the swollen carpal tunnel. Depending on your current state, a chiropractor will use one of the treatments to work toward restoring the proper functioning of this area.
The professional may perform spinal adjustments or adjustments of the hand and wrist. This way, your carpal tunnel will get the right signals from the brain. And once this is achieved, your carpal tunnel will work effectively, and you will no longer suffer such swellings.
Chiropractic care also focuses on lowering nerve interference in the body, improving its functionality. Your chiropractor may adjust your arm, spine, and hand, lowering the nerve interference. This also means that blood in your body will move properly and increase the effectiveness of your body’s functionality. Furthermore, with better blood flow, you will experience lesser symptoms of carpal tunnel, so lower discomfort as well as pain.
You may know that the median nerve is connected to the spinal cord. Furthermore, you must have a healthy spine for a healthy spinal cord. Surely, other factors could be responsible for carpal tunnel syndrome. However, by getting rid of spinal misalignment, a chiropractor can enhance your body’s functioning. This way, you will experience fewer symptoms and lower the chances of severe carpal tunnel syndrome.
While managing the swelling and blood flow and adjusting your spine and other body parts, chiropractic care can enhance your overall wellness. So, by improving the overall health of your body, a chiropractor will lower the effects of carpal tunnel syndrome. Furthermore, better health also helps with eliminating other issues in the body.
Meanwhile, you must work on managing the risk factors such as hypothyroidism, obesity, diabetes, etc. This way, you’ll not only lower the severity of this condition, but you might also be able to prevent it in the short and long term.
If you are pregnant or in your third trimester, chances are you may experience pain, numbness, and tingling in your fingers. Usually, these symptoms indicate you might be suffering from carpal tunnel syndrome.
Well, it is normal for you to feel concerned since you are already in your 28th week of pregnancy and want to avoid taking risks. However, chiropractic care is safe for pregnant women, and you should not worry about it. Your chiropractor will use effective and safe treatments to relieve soft tissue disorders. You’ll experience lower numbness and pain after the treatment using gentle stretches and reshaping the soft tissue.
You may experience numbness, wrist pain, and sensitivity loss relief after only a few days of chiropractic care. This is quite a comfortable and convenient treatment with no complications and side effects, offering long-term relief.
Other than that, as a pregnant woman, you can perform the following to lower pain during carpal tunnel syndrome:
Chiropractic care is an effective, non-invasive, and affordable solution for carpal tunnel syndrome. Also, you can take the help of a chiropractor to deal with all types of pain. This can include relieving strain, tension, and nerve compression using spinal manipulations and hands-on techniques.
So, contact Realign Spine if you want to avoid surgery for carpal tunnel syndrome and want a side effect and drug-free treatment. Our chiropractor in Jackson Heights, NY, Dr. Michael Shaub, has been treating patients that suffer from repetitive stress injuries for over 26 years. Dr. Shaub is always up-to-date with the new findings and treatments in this industry and ensures his patients get the best treatment. To book an appointment, call us at +1-888-269-7246 or send your request to 888anypain@gmail.com.
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