06 Sep 5 Treatment Options for Carpal Tunnel
Carpal Tunnel affects 3 million Americans per year. It is often characterized by weakness, numbness or tingling sensations in the hand or arm due to a compressed nerve in your wrist. In this technological era that we live in, Carpal Tunnel syndrome is very common due to the amount of repetitive movements we ask those muscles and nerves to perform while we type on a keyboard. Other causes for Carpal Tunnel include: aging, arthritis, diabetes, injury, increased fluid from pregnancy and hypothyroidism. At Mile High Spine & Pain Center we can help you find the source of your pain and prescribe natural, non-invasive treatment options.
Strengthening and Stretching Exercises
Stretching and strengthening exercises are prescribed by our Mile High Spine & Pain Center team to help build wrist strength and decrease swelling. Hand exercises also help increase the blood flow to the wrist and hand which can help with pain management, healing and strengthening. Research shows that two out of three patients with mild to moderate Carpal Tunnel symptoms were able to avoid surgery by incorporating strengthening and stretching exercises into their treatment planning.
Nerve Testing
Specific nerve tests are helpful for diagnosing the source of your pain and dysfunction. One of the more common tests that we offer at Mile High Spine & Pain Center is called Electromyography (EMG). This test can locate possible diseases/conditions that are affecting the muscle tissue, nerves or the intersections between muscles and nerves. The other type of test that we offer is called Nerve Conduction Velocity (NCV) testing. Nerve conduction testing helps to find damage in the peripheral nervous system including all the nerves that branch away from your brain and spinal cord and the nerves that branch from those as well. Both tests are effective tools for helping us get to the source of your Carpal Tunnel symptoms and wrist pain.
Non-Narcotic Pain Management
Pain creates noise in your life that can distract you from the demands of everyday living. The body has way to combat pain that can be utilized and accessed by a trained provider at our Mile High Spine & Pain Center facility. We like to test the effectiveness of non-pharmaceutical pain management before we suggest you use them to safeguard your long-term health. We combine multiple forms of therapy to create pain relief in our office, then we support these efforts by recommending lifestyle changes. Weekly or monthly treatments may relieve your pain without requiring you to deal with the side effects of medications or the risks of surgery.
Anti-Inflammatory Injections
Wrist pain can be treated with a quick injection at the site of your pain. Cortisone injections can offer relief from nerve, joint, and muscle pain in just hours. Anesthetic shots can relieve nerves that keep sending out signals of pain due to compression or joints that hurt due to arthritis, Carpal Tunnel or wear and tear. Since these chemicals relieve inflammation in general, they reduce swelling and heat in addition to pain. The needle is used to penetrate into the joint or area around the nerve so the medications are delivered right where they are needed. Soft tissue can also be treated successfully with this type of therapy.
Prevention Planning for Carpal Tunnel
Make an appointment to see our Mile High Spine & Pain Center team as soon as your symptoms develop. This will give you the best chance of reversing damage and finding relief without medication or surgery. Carpal Tunnel manifest first by causing your fingers and hands to feel weak, numb, to tingle or to burn. Start treating the symptoms immediately when this occurs to keep Carpal Tunnel syndrome from progressing and becoming a debilitating problem that requires surgery. When possible, limit your activity in the wrist area. If your hand and wrist get sore after using your computer mouse, try setting an alarm on your computer to alert you every 15 minutes to lift your hand off the mouse, wiggle your fingers and stretch your hand muscles. You can also use a wrist rest while working on the computer. Remember to reduce the weight you lift when you are working out while you are manifesting Carpal Tunnel symptoms. Even if your weight-lifting exercise doesn’t require you to bed directly at the wrist, holding the weight in a static position requires your fingers and hands to sustain pressure that can worsen your condition.
Schedule a Carpal Tunnel Consultation
Carpal Tunnel syndrome is a common condition in this technological era. Enlist the help of a professional if you are currently showing a symptoms of this condition or to receive tips on how to prevent it. The team at Mile High Spine & Pain Center is ready to help offer you treatment solutions and keep you pain free. We provide specialized treatment plans in the Broomfield community which can help you understand where your symptoms are coming from and what it will take to improve. Call (720) 507-0080 today to schedule your consultation!