Carpal tunnel syndrome may be one of the most misunderstood, misdiagnosed and mistreated conditions in modern medicine. It’s a crying shame because countless carpal tunnel victims could end their pain and suffering almost overnight if they only knew what local San Diego chiropractors and carpal tunnel syndrome specialists revealed to the public. If you’re suffering with carpal tunnel syndrome, what you’re about to discover can literally give you your life back. If you know anyone battling carpal tunnel syndrome, have them read this article. You may be responsible for changing their life.
Here are the astonishing facts in regard to carpal tunnel syndrome. Only 25% of all Carpal Tunnel Syndrome patients were able to return to their previous professions following surgery. Up to 36% of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome patients require unlimited medical treatment. Surgery for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is the second most common type of surgery, with well over 230,000 procedures performed annually. The U.S. Department of Labor has concluded that carpal tunnel syndrome is the “chief occupational hazard of the 90′s – disabling workers in epidemic proportions.” Carpal Tunnel Syndrome affects over 8 million Americans. Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is the #1 reported medical problem, accounting for about 50% of all work related injuries.
Reading those statistics should tell you something is horribly wrong with the accepted methods of treating Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. It doesn’t take a mastermind to figure out surgery is not the way to go when 230,000 are being performed every year and only twenty five are able to go back to their previous jobs. And returning to work does not mean living without pain. I wonder how many of that 25% were actually free from pain.
Take into consideration also the inherent risks of surgery and your option of getting cut starts looking like a distant last resort. Carpal Tunnel Syndrome has traditionally been defined as an entrapment of the median nerve inside the carpal tunnel in your wrist. The base of the carpal tunnel is made of eight carpal bones also known as wrist bones. They are odd shaped and fit together like the pieces of a puzzle. The ligaments are like fishing line. They help hold the bones together.
The roof of the tunnel contains a ligament. It is called the transverse carpal ligament. It stretches from one side of the carpal tunnel to the other side. A space is formed between the carpal bones. The transverse carpal ligament is the size of your pinky. A bunch of nerves, tendons and more pass through that small space. These include nine flexor tendons blood vessels and one nerve. There is also the median nerve, which is the primary nerve to your hand. The well known definition of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is compression of the median nerve. This occurs as it passes through the tunnel.
Nerves are like small wires that broadcast electrical impulses from your brain and spinal cord to the remainder of your body. Each time you desire to move your hand, your brain sends electrical impulses down the median nerve to the muscles in your hand, causing them to contract. Nerves are very responsive and can easily get compressed. If the median nerve gets strained or compressed as it passes through the carpal tunnel, it causes Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. It is usually thought that an injury or repetitive stress to the wrist can cause such an injury.
Here’s the problem with all of this. There is another condition that causes similar symptoms as Carpal Tunnel Syndrome that has little or nothing to do with the wrist! This condition is called Double Crush Syndrome. Here’s how it works. There are many sites that can compress a nerve as it goes from your spinal cord to your wrist. Double Crush Syndrome occurs when you have multiple compression sites from your neck down to your wrist. A compression site closer to the spinal cord and brain makes it much easier for a nerve to be compressed elsewhere in the body. Other areas that can get compressed include the wrist. Carpal tunnel pain is usually the combination of the compression sites that cause the problem.
So in most cases, if you remove the entrapment or compression that is closer to the spine or neck, many, if not all, of your symptoms will go away without ever touching the wrist where you may think it is coming from. The most common sites of compression or entrapment are a muscle in your forearm called the pronator teres. Other areas are the thoracic outlet by your shoulder and your neck. The most common place seems to be as the nerve exits your spine in your neck to the rest of your body.
By gently restoring function of your neck via chiropractic care, compression on the nerve can be relieved. That’s why specific chiropractic care can work wonders for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome when all else has failed. It will eliminate the Double Crush Syndrome and fix the true cause of your Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.
The significant thing to remember is you must be evaluated by a doctor that understands Double Crush Syndrome and evaluate you for all the possible compression sites and fix them properly. A total Chiropractic evaluation can also detect if your carpal tunnel symptoms are coming from one of the other compression/entrapment sites like your forearm, shoulder or wrist and work on those areas as well. A hand specialist may completely overlook the actual cause of your problem which may be the Double Crush Syndrome.
To find out more on how to get rid of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome forever, victims can look for for Dr. Michael Pritsker, D.C. in San Diego. He has treated thousands of carpal tunnel ache sufferers with advanced spinal decompression and chiropractic care. He can be contacted at New Century Spine Centers at 619-630-9153.
Looking to find the best information on carpal tunnel syndrome, then visit www.MichaelPritsker.com to find the best advice on chiropractic care for you.
Related Blogs
