Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
What is it? The Carpal Tunnel is a narrow passageway in your wrist that is made up of bones and ligaments. The Median Nerve, which runs from your shoulder to your hand, passes through this tiny tunnel and controls sensation in palm and fingers and movement in all your fingers except the pinky.
What are the symptoms? When that nerve gets compressed, the result is tingling, numbness, pain, or weakness in the arm and hand, creating Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, or CTS. Some loose their gripping and pinching ability as the thumb becomes weaker, finding it almost impossible to open bottle caps or pick up items with thumb and forefinger. Sufferers complain of numbness and tingling when driving, holding a book or phone. Eventually they are unable to hold a simple cup of tea or coffee. Others awaken at night with “pins and needles” in their hand as it struggles to “wake up.”
One would think the whole problem is that pesky tunnel – too narrow or too short. Or maybe the bones are too thick and are choking the nerve. However, this is better understood when viewed from the perspective of Applied Kinesiology.
Did you know?
Muscles move bones. Bones do not move muscles.
When muscles are all firing at optimum, they do their job to hold bones in their proper position. When muscles are balanced and working properly, all other components – nerves, arteries, veins, ligaments, discs, joints, etc. – located in and around these muscles work exactly the way they were intended. Think of it as a team effort. If muscles don’t work properly and don’t pull their own weight, they put a burden on all the other components trying to send the right signals – the blood flow, innervation, and support that make your body move. When muscles don’t do what they were intended to do, the whole team breaks down.
What to do: Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is easily corrected when the cause is found in any of the muscles that are members of the team. One of the simplest cures is to turn on and re-balance the muscles of the forearm, arm, or shoulder. That’s it. Not exercise it, stretch it, ultrasound it, cold pack it, hot pack it, or splint it. Cortisone shots or taking anti-inflammatory drugs may cover up the pain, but the problem remains. Medications will not and cannot re-balance the muscles of your forearm, arm, and shoulder. They can only mask the dysfunction, leading to more bouts of pain, numbness, and dysfunction down the road.
If you know someone who suffers from Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, don’t let him or her suffer needlessly. I look forward to helping them return their hand and arm to full strength and mobility.