Do You Have Carpal Tunnel?

Carpal Tunnel (also often called Carpal Tunnel Syndrome) symptoms may include pain in one or more of the following areas: one, or several, finger(s) of the hand; the wrist; and even the lower forearm. Pain in these areas may be almost continuous and quite severe, or more intermittent and not quite as severe. Pain in Brookline may also be experienced as dysesthesia, which includes not only pain, but abnormal sensations like numbness, tingling, “pins and needles”, etc.

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is often considered an entrapment condition, because it is most frequently related to an entrapment, or pinching, of one of the nerves (usually the median nerve) coming down the forearm and traveling into the hand through a narrow canal known as “the carpal tunnel”. Because this canal is so narrow, the nerve may often get seriously “pinched” by repetitive activities (like lots of computer typing) that place a strain on the wrist. The more a person continues to do that repetitive activity, the worse the Carpal Tunnel Syndrome may get, without proper treatment.

Traditional treatments for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome in Brookline are aimed at alleviating pain and trying to relieve the tightness and pressure within the wrist, within the carpal “tunnel”. Such treatments may include pain medications; physical therapy (including stretching exercises); wearing a special splint to relieve wrist pressure and limit movement; and even surgery. Sometimes the patient is advised to “avoid”, as much as is practical, repetitive movements that tend to strain the wrist, like computer typing, etc.

We offer a conservative approach at Brookline Chiropractic Center that involves specific techniques to gently manipulate, massage, and correct wrist dysfunction. The goal is to take pressure off the carpal tunnel and relieve wrist/hand pain, numbness, and/or tingling. In doing so, we also hope to eliminate the need for splints, strong medications, and/or surgery.

Get a good exam because, unfortunately, many patients with carpal tunnel symptoms have been misdiagnosed. In many cases, a patient’s pain is actually coming from a pinched nerve in the neck or the shoulder, not the wrist, but it’s still causing wrist and hand pain. These are known as radicular symptoms, and it’s why it’s important to do a thorough exam when we see a patient, in order to determine where the wrist/hand pain and other symptoms are actually coming from. The best advice: let us check you at Brookline Chiropractic Center with a proper exam, hopefully before you’ve had surgery, but even after you have had treatments that perhaps did not help alleviate pain. We can be reached at (617) 232-3400. Best of luck!