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Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
Carpal tunnel syndrome is named after the tube or tunnel that passes through the carpal bones (hence the name "carpal") in the heel of the hand. The prime pain spot is located in the area where the hand meets the wrist. If the size of the tunnel is reduced, pressure is put on the median nerve, producing the characteristic numbness and pain of carpal tunnel syndrome.
Let's take a look. Turn your palm toward you, tilt your palm toward your face, make a fist, and squeeze. Do you see the tendons that pop up and run like side-by-side railroad tracks from your wrist to your hand? The median nerve is underneath these tendons. When it's pinched, you hurt.
Carpal tunnel syndrome has become famous as a work-related, repetitive strain injury but more than half of all patients cannot trace their condition to a particular activity.
Symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome often crop up after you start a new job or a new hobby that forces you to use your wrist and fingers in a repetitive motion. Women are particularly susceptible to developing the condition, especially if they're pregnant or between the ages of 40 and 70. The pain can affect one or both arms and can involve pain in the forearm, wrist, and/or palm. Some patients with carpal tunnel feel a sharp pain when they make the repetitive movement; others experience a constant numbness or tingling in the thumb, index, middle, and half of the ring finger. The symptoms often worsen at night, and can get so bad that the patient has to wake up in order to shake his or her hands to relieve the numbness. If you're affected by carpal tunnel syndrome, you may also have difficulty with fine motor skills, such as writing or crocheting, and you may find yourself dropping things from the affected hand.
In traditional oriental medical terms, the
symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome reflect cold (a patient often feels more pain with cold), damp (forearm and hand may feel heavy and achy), and wind (characterizes the tingling or shooting nerve pain) that block the otherwise smooth flow of blood and qi in our arms.
Acupuncture treatments include stimulation of acu-points near the wrist by an in-and-out technique with the needle. You may feel a mild electrical sensation, which is desired because it will help release the tendons and decrease pain and numbness. Acupuncture needles electroacupuncture, electromagnetic acupuncture, moxibustion, magnet therapy, and even laser acupuncture are used in successfully treating carpal tunnel syndrome.
In addition to receiving treatment from your acu-pro, you should avoid activities that might aggravate your wrists, such as prolonged writing with a pen, working at a computer, performing assembly line work, or even working as a trapeze artist! If you sleep with your wrists curled up under your chin or pillow, your acu-pro may suggest a nighttime splint to keep you from further damaging your wrists while you sleep.
David Sollars, M.Ac., Lic.Ac., H.M.C., Clinic Founder/Medical Director, http://www.firsthealthofandover.com has combined his experiences from over two decades of practicing patient care during the continuing evolution of integrative medicine to offer a unique range of consulting.
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