Hands and wrists are very complex parts of the body. The muscles, ligaments, and joints of the hand and wrist should move freely and frequently. Several nerves running through the hand and wrist allow for sensation and are responsible for muscle movement. The carpal tunnel is a narrow space between the wrist bones and the transverse carpal ligament, allowing tendons and nerves to pass from your arm to your hand. The median nerve, which helps move your forearm and provides sensation for most of your fingers, travels through the carpal tunnel. When there is pressure on the median nerve, you can experience pain, numbness, tingling, or even swelling in the forearm or wrist.
Book Your First Carpal Tunnel Pain Consultation
Exam includes in-depth whole-body analysis with provider, posture pictures and insight nervous system scans (provided if necessary). Consultation & plan of action will help you understand your care options.
Carpal tunnel syndrome is so common that it impacts up to 10 million people in the US. Women are three times more likely to develop carpal tunnel syndrome because they tend to have smaller wrists. Carpal tunnel is also more common in people with jobs or hobbies that require repetitive hand motions. A person with carpal tunnel syndrome can experience impaired grip strength, making it difficult to do everyday tasks like holding their phone or gripping the steering wheel. Carpal tunnel can also impede movement, like typing on a keyboard.
While carpal tunnel surgery is a common treatment to attempt to resolve symptoms associated with carpal tunnel syndrome, chiropractic is a less invasive approach. The median nerve involved in carpal tunnel syndrome symptoms branches off from the spinal cord near the base of the neck, runs along the inside of the arm, through the carpal tunnel, and then branches off to control the fingers. A spinal misalignment that puts pressure on the median nerve, which branches from the spinal cord, could be responsible for carpal tunnel symptoms in the wrist or hand. Chiropractors are trained to detect and correct misalignments of the spine that can irritate nerves exiting in each region of the spine. If you suffer from carpal tunnel, it is a good idea to have your spine checked by a chiropractor to determine if the root cause of your symptoms comes from a misalignment in the spine.
How Our Carpal Tunnel Pain Relief Plan Works
1. Be Heard
And Understood
Quality time with a health professional, so you can be truly heard and understood, isn’t all that common. We understand that. This is why, on your first visit, you will meet with one of our doctors and share your health concerns and struggles so we can understand exactly why you are here and what you want to achieve. The doctor will determine what testing is necessary to find the source of your health concerns and answer the biggest question of all: Can Chiropractic Care Help?
2. Discover How We Can Help You
Every new patient should feel like they are making the right decision for their health. This is why our doctors explain what they are looking for in the testing, so our patients know exactly what is going on, instead of just being a bystander. We will share everything we discover from your testing and exams, including if we can help you. In the unfortunate event that we cannot help, our doctors will provide any additional resources they feel would be appropriate to assist you.
3. Achieve Your Health Goals Together
Whether you just want to be out of pain, or you want to get back to golfing without limitations, or you are desperate to get a restful night’s sleep, we will be with you every step of the way. We’ll achieve your goals
How We Treat Carpal Tunnel Syndrome in West Omaha, NE
Comprehensive Consultation and Exam
Understanding the root cause of your carpal tunnel syndrome is essential to determining the appropriate course of action. While the hand and wrist joints can become misaligned, many people suffering from carpal tunnel syndrome can trace symptoms back to a misalignment in the cervical spine. To determine the cause of carpal tunnel syndrome, a thorough examination of the spine and wrist joints is necessary.
When you come into our office with carpal tunnel pain, the doctor will start with a consultation to document your health history and assess how carpal tunnel pain impacts your life. Along with the consultation, the doctor will perform a series of examinations to help determine the root cause of your carpal tunnel symptoms. The doctor will assess the movement of the joints in your wrists and examine your spine to determine if subluxation in your spine contributes to your carpal tunnel symptoms. When a bone is out of place in your spine (subluxation), the misalignment can affect how your body moves and functions. A misalignment in your cervical spine can impact the nerves traveling down your arm and into your wrists and hands.
Specific Chiropractic Care in West Omaha, NE
Based on the examination’s findings, the doctor will let you know if chiropractic care is the right fit to address your carpal tunnel symptoms. If so, you will start a series of specific chiropractic adjustments. Chiropractic adjustments move bones back toward an optimal position, remove excess nerve pressure caused by misalignments, and allow the body to begin healing itself. The doctor may also prescribe home exercises to strengthen muscles and create more balance within your body.
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Common Symptoms of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome in West Omaha, NE
Numbness and Tingling
Numbness and tingling are typically the first symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome. Numbness and tingling will worsen as more pressure is put on the median nerve inside the carpal tunnel. The numbness and tingling sensations are felt in your hands and fingers, specifically the thumb, index, middle, and/or ring fingers. Often described as an electric shock, if severe enough, nerve pain may even travel up the arm. Symptoms become more frequent and severe when repeatedly doing tasks with bent wrists. Prolonged driving, computer work, or even phone conversations are examples. A chiropractor can evaluate to determine if numbness and tingling are the result of median nerve compression. Chiropractic adjustments restore proper alignment and relieve pressure on the median nerve.
Wrist Pain
Only 10% of our nervous system perceives pain, which is your body’s signal that something is wrong! Wrist pain is a common symptom of carpal tunnel syndrome, but typically not the first symptom that people experience. Wrist pain usually follows numbness and tingling of the wrist, hand, and first four digits.
Early pain symptoms associated with carpal tunnel syndrome are commonly noticed at night as people sleep with their wrists bent, compressing the median nerve. As pressure increases on the median nerve, symptoms may become more noticeable during the day and more severe. Straightening and stretching the wrist may temporarily relieve symptoms, but long-term relief is possible with care focused on relieving the pressure on the median nerve.
Many people with carpal tunnel wrist pain see a chiropractor to determine if their symptoms are due to misalignments putting pressure on the median nerve. If subluxations are found to be the cause of wrist pain, the chiropractor can perform adjustments to restore alignment and allow nerves to function without interference.
Weakness (Grip Issues)
With prolonged nerve compression, the brain can’t properly communicate with the muscles the nerve innervates. In the case of carpal tunnel syndrome, compression of the median nerve can lead to weakness of the thumb’s pinching and grip muscles, resulting in dysfunction or weakness. Following prolonged numbness and tingling, people with carpal tunnel may notice difficulty with fine motor skills like buttoning a shirt or writing with a pen. More severe cases of carpal tunnel may result in the inability to shake someone’s hand properly or even dropping objects frequently.
A chiropractic evaluation can help determine if prolonged nerve compression is the cause of weakness or grip issues. When proper alignment of the spine and wrist is restored, nerves can function without interference, and many people report regaining function that has been lost over time.
Who is Most At Risk of Developing Carpal Tunnel
Desk Workers
Individuals who sit or stand at a desk are at risk for developing carpal tunnel syndrome due to the postural positioning of their hands and wrists. Extending their wrists for long periods tends to cause a subluxation of the lunate bone, one of the small bones of the wrist. This misaligned wrist bone then puts pressure on the median nerve, which runs through the carpal tunnel.
The effects of prolonged desk work can be counteracted by taking hourly breaks to perform flexion and rotational exercises of the hands and wrists. Chiropractic care can also be beneficial by removing the subluxation on the lunate bone and relieving the pressure on the median nerve.
Diabetics
People with diabetes are more susceptible to carpal tunnel syndrome due to the excessive sugars in the bloodstream, causing inflammation and damage to the nerve fibers. Chronic inflammation makes it easier for compression of the median nerve to occur. Dietary changes, regular exercise, and chiropractic care have been shown to offer pain relief from this chronic condition. Getting a spinal checkup by a chiropractor will also allow for identifying the source of the subluxation, which can frequently be from the lower cervical or upper thoracic spine. After identifying a subluxation, we perform chiropractic adjustments to restore proper alignment.
Dental workers
Carpal tunnel syndrome is a frequent complaint of those working in the dental industry due to the constant bent wrist and hunched posture exhibited by professionals. We frequently see the subluxation of wrist bones, upper back, and lower neck in people doing this work. Allowing for breaks to rest the hands and arms, rotational exercises, and regular chiropractic care can aid in pain relief and correcting the cause of carpal tunnel. Regularly maintaining a dental worker’s body will keep them in practice much longer without the discomfort experienced by their peers.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a chiropractor in West Omaha, NE, do anything about carpal tunnel syndrome?
Chiropractic care can be very effective for relieving the symptoms and correcting the cause of carpal tunnel syndrome. The chiropractor will utilize specific adjustments on the wrist bones, spine, and shoulder girdle, where many of the problems originate.
What happens if carpal tunnel goes untreated?
If carpal tunnel syndrome goes untreated, the pain will get worse, and muscle weakening and loss of range of motion will soon follow. Eventually, surgery will become the primary recommendation.
Which activities make carpal tunnel worse?
Activities that make carpal tunnel syndrome worse include typing for extended periods or using handheld devices. Other activities include exercises or work-related activities that place the hands in an extended position, such as pushups, bench presses, and overhead lifts.
How do I stop my hands from going numb when I sleep?
A simple way to keep your hands from going to sleep at night is to avoid curling up in the fetal position. This sleep posture usually has the shoulders curled forward, which puts pressure on the nerves and blood vessels running under the clavicle and down the arm to supply the hands. Sleeping on your back or on your flank are much more optimal positions.
What causes carpal tunnel to flare up?
Carpal tunnel syndrome flare-ups can be caused by assuming the hand or wrist posture that caused the original symptoms. Also, general inflammation in the body can be a reason for more intense feelings of pain.
Increased inflammatory response can be related to:
- Dietary causes
- Inadequate sleep
- Accumulation of life’s stressors
- Subluxations
Spinal misalignments (subluxations) interrupt regular nervous system function, disrupting the communication flow between the brain and body.
How can I reverse carpal tunnel syndrome naturally?
Natural ways to reduce carpal tunnel symptoms include:
- Proper positioning of body posture (including the back and wrists)
- Incorporating anti-inflammatory practices with adequate rest, nutrition, and hydration
- Getting your nervous system checked by a chiropractor (most important!)
Specific chiropractic care can reduce stress on the body, realign the bones of the wrist, and provide optimal nervous system communication between the body and the brain.
Book Your First Carpal Tunnel Pain Consultation
Exam includes in-depth whole-body analysis with provider, posture pictures and insight nervous system scans (provided if necessary). Consultation & plan of action will help you understand your care options.