You might think of chiropractic work as working on the back and spine. That's true; chiropractors do that, and they help a lot of people with problems like headaches, shoulder stiffness and lower back pain. The principles of chiropractic care can also help alleviate symptoms from other common, painful ailments, like carpal tunnel syndrome.
If you suffer from carpal tunnel, you already know what it feels like: burning, tingling and numbness in the hands, fingers and thumb. It happens when the median nerve running through the carpal tunnel in the wrist gets compressed due to inflammation. Severe cases make it hard to grip or even sense hot and cold.
Most employed people get it because of some repetitious motion they have to perform at work: The Center for Disease Control's 2010 study found that 69.4 percent of those diagnosed with carpal tunnel got it at their place of employment. It's most often found in manufacturing, sewing, cleaning and meatpacking, among other industries. Not only does carpal tunnel begin at work, it costs employers a lot. The average carpal tunnel sufferer loses about $30,000 in medical bills and time off work. It makes sense for both employers and the affected employees to seek less-invasive chiropractic care to reduce symptoms.
How Do Chiropractors Diagnose Carpal Tunnel?
There are three common ways that chiropractors, such as Reinecke Chiropractor, will test for carpal tunnel syndrome. The most common of these put pressure on the tunnel and nerve to try and reproduce symptoms. They are:
What Treatments Do Chiropractors Use for Carpal Tunnel?
Almost every type of medical practitioner, including chiropractors, will begin by having you rest and ice the inflamed wrist. For more mild cases, rest and avoidance of the repetitive actions that may be causing issues are all it takes to see improvement.
Other actions your chiropractor may suggest:
A last-resort treatment is surgery. Usually, your chiropractor will be able to use the techniques above to help you avoid surgery, especially if you catch the problem early when symptoms first begin.
Note that sometimes carpal tunnel treatment can take a long time and work slowly. Damage that was done to the wrist took time to happen, and it can take a while to reduce the inflammation and resulting damage. Talk to your chiropractor about whether you have carpal tunnel and what treatment is right for you.
Share13 January 2015
When was the last time you went to an optometrist? If you are like most people, you only go when your glasses break or you run out of contact lenses. Very few people actually follow the guidelines of having their eyes checked each year. Not sure why it is necessary to visit your optometrist each year? You can learn all about the different exams and tests that your optometrist runs and why they are done. Knowing what can go wrong with your eyes and what can be done if the ailments are detected early could help to encourage you to get to the optometrist more often.
