Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

According to the American Academy of Neurology, 10% of the population suffers from the syndrome. It also affects up to 50% of industrial workers.

Symptoms

Carpal tunnel syndrome is characterized by pain, numbness, and tingling that occurs in one or both hands.

It often wakes people from their sleep, leaving them feeling like they have to "shake their hands out" to make the pain and symptoms go away.

Causes

This syndrome is caused by the compression of a nerve (the median nerve) as it goes through a narrow tunnel in the wrist formed by the carpal bone, hence the name carpal tunnel syndrome.

According to the American Academy of Neurology, 10% of the population suffers from the syndrome. It also affects up to 50% of industrial workers.

Treatment

Fortunately, unless people are continuing to stress the wrist with repetitive stress injuries (e.g., handling heavy equipment or doing very large amounts of typing), carpal tunnel syndrome can often be relieved without surgery.

In almost all of my patients, their carpal tunnel syndromes have resolved by simply using the advice here.

If surgery is recommended, ask your physician if you can try these conservative measures instead for 6 to 12 weeks.

• Surgery

  All too often the syndrome is treated by surgery. Although this can be effective, it is also expensive and rarely can leave people with residual problems due to the formation of scar tissue that can occur after surgery.

  Unfortunately, your doctor may be totally unfamiliar with these conservative therapies — in today's medicine only expensive treatments tend to get attention.

• Recommended Supplements

  • Vitamin B6 / PSP

    Vitamin B6 250 mg daily. Only use the P5P (Pyridoxal 5 Phosphate) form as this is safer for nerve problems.

  • Armour Thyroid Hormone

    Armour thyroid hormone should be used even if your blood tests are normal.

• Other Therapies & Advice

  • Use a Wrist Splint

    When your hand gets into funny positions while you are sleeping, it stretches and strains the nerve as it goes through your wrist. This is why you wake up in the night with numbness or tingling.

    The type of wrist splint to use is called a "cock up" wrist splint. It keeps your hand in the neutral position (i.e., the position your hand is in while holding a glass of water), which takes the stress off the nerve.

    Be sure to wear the splint while sleeping, and take the vitamin B6 and thyroid, for at least 6 weeks to give the treatment time to work. During that period, also wear the wrist splint during the day whenever you conveniently can.

  • More Advice for Carpal Tunnel

    You may also want to try:

    • acupuncture
    • osteopathic manipulation
    • chiropractic manipulation
    • myofascial release