Carpal
Tunnel Surgery, Is It Necessary?
Carpal tunnel surgery is a big business, costing private and public industry
billions of dollars each year. It is really necessary? History has
revealed that carpal tunnel surgery has a poor success rate and overall outcome
while conservative therapy provides more immediate and long-lasting relief. Don't
fall in the surgery trap and potentially become disabled forever when you can
address your injury quickly and effectively with simple exercises and stretches
to restore muscle balance in the hand and wrist.
Carpal
Tunnel Syndrome Exercises Equal Relief
Exercise therapy is used
for back injuries, knee injuries and many other injuries
throughout the body. So why has it been neglected for
treating carpal tunnel syndrome? It comes down
to the fact that carpal tunnel syndrome is a huge medical
financial factory, with physicians making between $4-5,000 for
each 25-minute surgical procedure. It is
time to stop these invasive practices and use simple,
effective exercises and stretches to recover from musculoskeletal
disorders like carpal tunnel.
CTS
Symptoms
The symptoms of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS) vary
tremendously from one patient to the next. Some
patients find CTS to be a very slow process, while
other feel like their hands were debilitated somehow
overnight.
Carpal
Tunnel Syndrome - Damaging U.S. Economy
Repetitive strain injuries (RSI's) like carpal
tunnel syndrome (CTS) are costing consumers, private
business and insurance companies more than $100
billion in lost revenue each year. Carpal
Tunnel Syndrome Swelling - A Secondary Effect
Swelling of structures within the carpal tunnel is usually a secondary effect
of the nine flexor tendons and median nerve having to glide through the carpal
tunnel which has decreased in size, causing friction and resulting in the irritation
and swelling of the soft tissue structures within. Carpal
Tunnel Syndrome - Reaching Pandemic Proportions
in 2005
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS) and other Repetitive Strain Injuries (RSI's) like
trigger finger, tendonitis, guyon's syndrome, cubital tunnel syndrome, dupuytren's
contracture, epicondylitis, dequervain's and many other disorders effecting the
upper extremity have increased to pandemic proportions over the past 5 years.
Muscle
Imbalance - The Cause of Carpal Tunnel Sydnrome
and Other Disorders.
People have been using their hands for decades without the severity of Carpal
Tunnel Syndrome and Repetitive Strain Injury cases that are prevalent in today's
society. The reason is that most tasks today require unidirectional resistive
force (i.e. typing, mousing, gripping a steering wheel, etc.), therefore leading
to a muscle imbalance between the overused (overdeveloped) muscle group and the
underused (underdeveloped) muscle group.
Carpal
Tunnel Syndrome Exercises.
Carpal tunnel syndrome
is a painful condition characterized by swelling,
tingling, and muscle wasting in the hand. Caused
by muscle imbalance that ultimately leads to
nerve entrapment, the condition can be exceedingly
painful, and it is...
Carpal
Tunnel Syndrome In Musicians.
Carpal tunnel syndrome
is caused by compression of the nerves and tendons
that run through the wrist. The diagnosis brings
considerable pain and impairment and it is linked
to loss of hand strength, coordination, and pincer
grasp. This impairment is problematic for almost
any profession; however, it can be entirely disabling
for musicians.
Carpal
Tunnel Syndrome Prevention.
Carpal tunnel
syndrome is a common nerve entrapment disorder that
causes significant impairment and disability. There
are a variety of uncomfortable symptoms associated
with the disorder, but the most common clinical features
involve pain, numbness, and tingling in the thumb
and first two fingers. In more severe cases, pain
travels from the median nerve creating pain throughout
the forearm and shoulder.
Carpal
Tunnel Syndrome Surgery.
Carpal tunnel syndrome
is a painful condition that is characterized
by loss of strength and coordination in the
hand. It is the most common nerve entrapment
disorder and it is caused by muscle imbalance
that creates pressure on the median nerve.
Surgery is one option for treating this condition;
however, it remains a controversial choice
and it is important to fully understand the
risks and benefits involved. Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Symptoms.
Carpal tunnel syndrome is
a nerve entrapment disorder that is associated
with considerable pain and impairment. Caused by
an imbalance of muscles surrounding the median
nerve, the condition leads to muscle deterioration
when left untreated. It is the cause of significant
disability worldwide and a subject of growing research
in the medical and physical therapy communities.
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Treatments.
Studies of carpal tunnel
syndrome show that when untreated, its course
is poor. Indeed, research on the natural
history of the disorder indicates that patients
with mild to moderate symptoms typically
experience significant worsening in the first
year. Although many factors are linked to
poor outcome, bilateral impairment is a major
predictor of poor course in carpal tunnel
syndrome.
What Causes Carpal Tunnel
Syndrome.
Carpal tunnel syndrome is the most frequently
diagnosed nerve entrapment disorder. Exceedingly
uncomfortable and debilitating, the disorder
typically includes pain and paresthesias
(i.e., tingling pins and needles sensation).
If untreated, the syndrome usually leads
to wasting away of the muscle in the hand.
Wrist Pain
Wrist pain can occur
for a variety of reasons including medical
illness, overuse of the wrist, and acute
trauma. In each case, the pain can be debilitating
and it can undermine one's ability to perform
basic daily living tasks. Thankfully, innovative
treatments are emerging to help manage, reduce,
and in some cases, eliminate wrist pain altogether.
Recognizing and Preventing
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
The carpal tunnel is a small tunnel located
in the wrist that is lined by eight (8) carpal
bones and the flexor retinaculum (carpal
ligament). This canal is just at the base
of the palm and acts as the passageway for
nine (9) of the flexor muscles/tendons that
connect to your hand, allowing the wrist
and fingers to flex and the fingers to adduct,
or come together. The Median nerve also passes
through this tunnel.
Carpal Tunnel Diagnosis
Carpal
tunnel diagnosis is best handled by a healthcare
professional in order to rule out any types of serious
ailments or diseases. Although self-diagnosis can
and is done on a regular basis, it is not recommended.
In reality, most carpal tunnel cases seeking help
from non-conservative therapies that are available
to anyone without a physician's recommendation are
self-diagnosed. The reason for this is that there
are not many other ailments that have the symptoms
of carpal tunnel syndrome. This is makes self-diagnosis
even more common, especially if you perform
a lot of repetitive or static flexion type actions
with your wrists and hands and already know that
you are involved in a high-risk occupation.
Carpal Tunnel Numbness
The
numbness associated with carpal tunnel syndrome is
common to all people that both have the disorder
as well as those who are in the process of getting
it. Numbness is one of the first signs that you are
getting afflicted with carpal tunnel syndrome.
Common Methods of Preventing
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
Carpal tunnel syndrome is an increasingly
common and painful affliction that harms
millions of workers world wide every year.
Carpal tunnel syndrome is an affliction that
occurs when the median nerve, which runs
from the forearm into the hand, becomes impinged
at the wrist junction. The carpal tunnel
is a narrow area consisting of the transverse
carpal ligament and the carpal bones located
at the base of the hand.
Prevalence of Carpal Tunntl
Syndrome in Grocery Checkers
Carpal tunnel syndrome is
a serious affliction suffered by millions
of workers a year. While it starts off as
just pain, carpal tunnel syndrome is a very
serious disorder that can lead to severe
pain and nerve damage. Those most at risk
for carpal tunnel syndrome are those who
have jobs that involve constant repetitive
and/or static motion, particularly of the
wrists, arms, and hands.
A Young Affliction? Do Video
Games Cause Carpal Tunnel Syndrome?
The explosion of popularity in video game
systems and computer usage has also led to
the problem of carpal tunnel syndrome coming
to the forefront of society in general. As
carpal tunnel syndrome and other similar
injuries continue to increase, and afflict
younger and younger individuals, questions
arise as to how relevant a link exists between
carpal tunnel syndrome and video games.
Carpal
Tunnel and Computers
Does computer use increase one's chances of developing carpal tunnel syndrome?
If you do a "search" on the internet, you can find several stories that say no,
and just as many that say yes, sometimes even from the same source!
Carpal Tunnel Exercises
There
are a number of specific carpal tunnel exercises
that have been developed to help eliminate
the symptoms associated with carpal tunnel
syndrome. They are simple exercises that
address the muscles of the hands and wrists
in order to restore the muscles' natural
balance that often gets “out
of whack” due to excessive repetitive and/or
static flexion activities.
How
To Eliminate Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
In the past years,
starting with a magnificent therapist in the
field of Physical Therapy named, Janet Travell,
it has been found that Carpal Tunnel Syndrome,
for most all patients, is a simple case of
muscle imbalance. There is no reason for the
thousands of surgeries, injections or wrist
braces, as these do not treat the underlying
cause of muscle imbalance and therefore have
an embarrassingly low rate for success.
Why do Tendons Swell Within
the Carpal Tunnel?
The Carpal Tunnel is a passageway
in which the nine flexor tendons, median
nerve, radial artery, blood and lymphatic
vessels pass through in order to supply function
and movement to the thumb, index, middle
and one-half of the ring finger.
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome -
Stopping the Pain
Caused by an imbalance of the muscles that
open, close, deviate and rotate the hand,
results in biomechanical dysfunction and
a joint imbalance, affecting the median nerve
at the wrist junction. Severe cases of carpal
tunnel syndrome can lead to muscle atrophy
and deterioration of the median nerve when left untreated.
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