What Treatment Are Good For CTS?
Posted on October 31, 2009
Filed Under Physical Therapy | Leave a Comment
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome can cause great pain and interfere with your life and productivity. Its effects can range from mildly irritating wrist, hand, and finger tingling that needs to be constantly shaken out to severe pain and partial debilitation of the hand. CTS can virtually always be treated, but that doesn’t mean that the treatment is necessarily easy or desirable.
How does one treat carpal tunnel syndrome? It depends on how severe your condition is and what may work best for you. In most cases, a wrist brace is first recommended to immobilize the wrist so that the median nerve is not further irritated. Most often, though, the brace is usually worn during sleep and not during the day. This can mean that hands and wrists are allowed to go through the normal ranges of motion during the day, which can exacerbate symptoms further. Therefore, it’s recommended that one curtail the use of affected hands and wrists as much is possible during the period of healing. This may mean not using your dominant hand (assuming that that’s the one that has carpal tunnel syndrome) to brush your teeth, open and close the door, write, type, and so on. And of course, this can be very inconvenient and disabling in and of itself.
Oftentimes, a treatment recommended is that one wear the brace(s) for a period of two weeks, along with the possible use of anti-inflammatories available over the counter like acetaminophen, ibuprofen, or aspirin. One particular company has also developed a patented device that is somewhat similar to the traditional brace, but is purported to be better fitting and more flexible. Its purpose is not to necessarily immobilize the wrist so much, but to gently pull on the inflamed and swollen joint areas so that the pressure on the median nerve is reduced.
If you type or keyboard a lot in your life (whether for work or for leisure), it’s recommended that you get an ergonomic keyboard so that your hands are in better alignment and there’s less strain. Also always make sure that your hands are aligned parallel to the floor when you’re typing. A wrist pad can help with this alignment. Finally, take a 10-minute break every hour to take a walk and massage hands and wrists so that symptoms are reduced or eliminated.
If pain and symptoms are still a problem, see your doctor; he or she may be able to prescribe you corticosteroid medications, which cannot be bought over the counter. These contain steroidal medication, so they do also have some risks. If you’ve come to this point, other treatment options for CTS may also be beneficial to you. One of these, chiropractic medicine, has been shown to be of benefit to CTS, and may utilize techniques like joint or spinal manipulation and ultrasound. Acupuncture, too, may be of help with CTS, and usually include dietary practices and herbal treatment in addition to the acupuncture. The acupuncture itself may be either traditionally based with needle usage or may be done through the use of lasers.
If you’ve tried all of these methods and nothing has seemed to work for long, your doctor may recommend surgery. If this is shown to be the best method for you, your doctor may recommend endoscopic surgery or traditional surgery. Endoscopic surgery has the advantage of being less invasive than traditional surgery, with a shorter recovery. With either type of surgery, the transverse carpal nerve is cut in order to relieve symptoms. This certainly should not affect the use of your hands either in terms of mobility or strength, but you can and probably will have at least minimal scarring. You’ll also have some temporary swelling and pain immediately after the surgery that will diminish quite quickly. And of course, as with any surgery, there are risks, including nerve damage that may result from the surgery itself.
Perhaps the best way to prevent CTS is to do exercises specifically designed to prevent and treat it. These exercises are perfect because they don’t require you to take drugs, are noninvasive, don’t cost any money, and are convenient; all they take is a few minutes of your time and attention. Try these before you try the other methods for relief and even cure, especially if your CTS is just beginning.
Practicing these simple carpal tunnel exercises, as provided by Thom Nicholson (noted CTS Guru), can help you holistically treat your symptoms and reduce the pain caused by Carpal Tunnel Syndrome without invasive surgery. Help your body heal itself!
Related posts
Comments
Leave a Reply