Carpal Tunnel and the Magic Bullet
To download a copy of this newsletter, please click here.
Chiropractor in Clear Lake Comments: Patients with severe carpal tunnel symptoms often become desperate in their search for a cure. Most patients with chronic diseases fall prey to this, looking for the one answer, the one magic pill or magic bullet that will rid them of all their troubles now and forever.
In carpal tunnel care, you may have looked for the magic splint, the best surgeon, the one exercise, the one vitamin or herb or magnet, to find relief of your pain. As carpal tunnel symptoms worsen, affecting not only our daily lives and even our jobs, the urgency to find the one thing becomes greater and greater.
It’s no wonder there’s no shortage of promises and potions out there to deliver you the magic bullet. Perhaps you could look at this problem in another way? Not the one thing that has thus far eluded you, but rather the many things you’ve found difficult to face and take care of, the things that may prevent problems but only if you faithfully adhere to them. What I’m getting at is this: there are many pieces to the carpal tunnel puzzle and you can think of hand pain more of as a signal that the final straw that is finally breaking the camel’s back.
Yes it is true that those with vitamin deficiencies get more nerve symptoms and taking B6 can help some people with their symptoms. But B6 is part of the B-complex that we should be getting everyday in our diets. Whether you have symptoms or not, you should be eating right, and that means lots of vegetables. Most of us will benefit from correcting our lack of vitamin intake by taking different vitamins in supplement form.
Or maybe we are overweight; it’s true of 60% of Americans. We need to maintain an ideal weight whether or not our hands hurt. Or perhaps we have a neck problem that we are not addressing. Sometimes neck problems cause hand pain and sometimes they do not. Whether or not the neck itself is causing your hand to hurt, you should get your neck fixed so that movements are free and symmetrical.
Lastly, exercise and stretching should be party of everyone’s daily routine, not just those with hand symptoms.
Dr. Ward Beecher practices at Beecher Chiropractic Clinic at 1001 Pineloch, Ste 700 Houston, TX 77062. You can schedule an appointment at BeecherChiropractic.com or by calling (281) 286-1300. If you have any questions regarding this blog, please comment below!
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome: Gadgets and Alternatives
To download a copy of this newsletter, please click here.
Houston Area Chiropractor Comments: I’ve noticed many patients use gadgets to treat carpal tunnel syndrome. But is this a good choice or another fad? Sometimes our health advice comes from friends, family, and customers at the local health food store. I am sure you were given a persuasive story before buying. Late night TV infomercials are used too often for medical advice. If your carpal tunnel symptoms show up at night, you may have fallen prey to these sales pitches. There are lots of snake-oil salesmen to take advantage of this often debilitating and frustrating condition which affects millions every year.
Copper bracelets and magnets seem to be particularly in style today. But do these and similar gadgets even work?
There are a couple of studies looking at herbs and magnets. According to the research there is very little evidence that these devices do anything at all. There are no studies on copper-so I guess the jury is still out on that question. However, they don’t pass the smell test in my opinion. These gadgets are probably safe, except for making your skin turn a little green from a copper bracelet.
What about yoga? Surprisingly, one clinical trial of 51 patients over eight weeks showed that doing yoga improved carpal tunnel symptoms better than using a wrist splint.
As far as chiropractic care, there is some evidence that mobilization movements can help ease symptoms. In the short term, chiropractic care is at least as effective at reducing pain when compared to taking powerful pain-killing drugs.
The first step is to make sure you are properly diagnosed. There are too many patients who get incorrect diagnoses or have resigned themselves to taking pills for indefinite periods of time.
One important consideration is whether your hand symptoms are from a neck injury. Injury to nerves in the neck and wrist can lead to what is known as double-crush syndrome. The wrist and the neck, needs to be examined to get a thorough diagnosis. There are also rare causes of carpal tunnel syndrome, such as diabetes, which have to be considered.
Dr. Ward Beecher practices at Beecher Chiropractic Clinic at 1001 Pineloch, Ste 700 Houston, TX 77062. You can schedule an appointment at BeecherChiropractic.com or by calling (281) 286-1300. If you have any questions regarding this blog, please comment below!
