Massage and Medicine
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
Do you suffer with numbness, pain, and or tingling, in the hand or thumb, index, middle and half the ring finger? Do you use your hands repetitively or forcefully? Do you repetitively bend your wrist, have arthritis, especially the rheumatoid type, thyroid gland imbalance or hormonal changes associated with menopause and pregnancy. If so, you may have Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.
There is a group of small bones that make up your wrist and the base of your hand called "carpals." To allow nerves and tendons to pass through to your fingers, there is a tunnel through these bones called the "carpal tunnel." Through this tunnel pass nine tendons and a bundle of nerve fibers called the "median nerve." There is limited room in this tunnel, and if anything happens to cause swelling of any of the tissues, the median nerve will be compressed, at first causing irritation, then over time causing actual nerve damage. Many other conditions can have symptoms that are similar to those of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome but are treated differently. Therefore the first step to correct treatment is an exam by an experienced physician to determine the correct diagnosis.
Massage therapy is often used to treat CTS. It will focus on relieving pressure on the median nerve while increasing circulation. Furthermore, a person must be retrained in proper hand posture and biomechanical stress reduction to prevent exacerbation of the problem. Medical massage therapy is uniquely positioned to offer this therapy without the side effects of medications, local injections, or surgery.
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