It’s common for women to get carpal tunnel with symptoms of hand pain, hand numbness and finger numbness and tingling, especially in the index and middle fingers. Although carpal tunnel is often work- related, more people are getting hand pain and numbness from obsessive cell phone texting.
Carpal tunnel syndrome is one of the most common peripheral neuropathies. To ease night time hand pain, hand numbness and finger numbness, carpal tunnel suffers often shake their hands or dangle their arms off the bed. And to ease the stiffness and the feeling of swollen fingers, they wiggle and flex their fingers.
It’s very common to find myofascial pain and trigger points in the arms and hands of carpal tunnel suffers. Trigger points are palpable nodules that are sensitive to pain and pressure. Trigger points are mostly found in tight and fibrotic muscles and tendons, but they can also be located in connective tissues such as fascias, ligaments and joint capsules.
It’s well known that trigger points associated with carpal tunnel cause partial and continual contractions of the muscles and tendons of the arms and hands. These low-grade and continual contractions from trigger points require a steady source of oxygen and glucose in exchange for lactic acid. Blood flow slows down at rest and at night, which means there are more accumulated lactic acid and less available oxygen and glucose. So at night, the median nerve is more irritated. Carpal tunnel suffers are awaken by increase hand pain, hand numbness and finger numbness and the feeling of swollen hands and fingers. Shaking the arms and hands improves circulation which reduces lactic acid level and improves glucose and oxygen supplies to the affected muscles and tendons--temporary releive night time hand and finger numbness.
Carpal tunnel is easily recognizable with its classic symptoms of hand pain, hand numbness and finger numbness, especially to the index, middle and ring fingers. However, there are other conditions that cause hand pain, hand numbness and tingling in the fingers. Quick and inattentive clinicians can misdiagnose carpal tunnel for thoracic outlet syndrome, cervical radiculopathy, Raynaud’s disease, T4 syndrome or brachial neuralgia.
Carpal tunnel syndrome affects the median nerve. But compression and irritation of the median nerve causing hand pain, hand and finger numbness and tingling may involve other locations besides the wrist. It’s rare to find problems of the median nerve to be isolated at the wrist. In my opinion, it’s more appropriate to call median nerve entrapment syndrome than carpal tunnel syndrome.
Four Step Treatments
If you experience hand pain, hand numbness, tingling and stiffness in the fingers, it’s important to find out what causes these symptoms, and if the problem is peripheral, central, local or systemic. Quick and inattentive clinicians may misdiagnose carpal tunnel for something else.
Treatment of carpal tunnel syndrome should start with conservative care before cortisone injection and surgery.
I help provide health freedom to people living with hand pains, hand and finger numbness. I help them stay healthy and active from carpal tunnel syndrome. My four step treatments relieve hand pain, hand and finger numbness and tingling. They include:
- 1. Soft tissue treatments to hands, arms and neck
2. Chiropractic adjustments to the fingers, wrists and elbows
3. Specific rehab exercises and stretching
4. Ergonomic and habit corrections
If you’re ready to be healthy and feel good again, please call 604-782-2029 for your carpal tunnel consultation. And if you have any worry about your hand pain, hand numbness or finger numbness, please fill out the form below. I’ll answer your questions ASAP. Cheers!