Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS) is a common health complaint, it’s symptoms include hand weakness, tingling, numbness and pain.
CTS manifests most commonly in pregnant women and people who work in manual occupations such as brick layers, chefs, musicians,carpenters and plumbers. In the case of pregnancy women’s bodies contain extra blood (for the foetus) and this extra blood volume marginally dilates the veins and arteries thus increasing the pressure through the carpal tunnel which is the inner passage way in your wrists that contains the nerves and blood vessels that enervate and provide blood to your hands.
In the case of those who have highly manual occupations and passtimes it is the sheer repetition and effort with which they use their hands that causes a prolonged fluid build up in their wrists that does not fully subside even hours (or days) after “downing tools for the day”. Whether your CTS is because you are busy or pregnant you may wake in the middle of the night with an intense pulsating throb in your hands that vigorous shaking can relieve and the treatment of CTS is identical in both groups, that is surgery if you see a doctor and massage and acupuncture if you elect to have this problem addressed by someone such as myself.
CTS is not always a clear cut thing to diagnose and treat because muscular stiffness and “pinched nerves” in your upper spine and arms can contribute to it, sometimes in a minor way and sometimes substantially. In the case of taking the surgical option this then becomes a job for a neuro or spinal surgeon rather than a hand surgeon (and occassionally both!).
The good news is if you are pregnant with CTS it will probably go away immediately after you have your baby, for all you workers who get it, unless you change jobs or have a long holiday the symptoms probably won”t go away and if left untreated will probably worsen.
Over the years I have successfully treated CTS on numerous ocassions working those muscles from the neck to the hand, as the muscle stiffness subsides so too do the symptoms of the CTS, stretching exercises between treatments further enhances results and help to prevent a return of the symptoms once it has been brought under control.
If your CTS gets really bad and you want a rapid result surgery may be a tempting option (so long as you can fully rest several weeks while your stitches heal), at a comparable (or cheaper) total cost you might like to try the acupuncture and massage option that will not impel you to take several weaks off work.
If you suspect that you have CTS and you have the time and patience for it, using Self Massage can reduce it’s symptoms. You also need to review your work practises, maybe there are easier and less manual ways of going about things in your daily life.
Occasionally (or in conjunction with the more usual causes listed above), you may be a “fist-clencher”, if others complain that you turn your taps off too hard in your home or at work, your problem may be that you do not process stress so well, this is something you may need to give further thought to.