There are many spinal stenosis treatment options you should consider before resorting to surgery. Most patients with spinal stenosis respond well to non-surgical treatments such as medication, physical therapy, and gentle chiropractic care. Spinal stenosis is a narrowing of the spinal canal, typically caused by age, injury, or congenital disorder. The condition can cause difficulty […]
carpal tunnel
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Treatment
Carpal tunnel syndrome is a surprisingly common condition that causes pain, numbness, and tingling in the hand and arm. At Advanced Wellness Solutions, we take a two pronged approach to carpal tunnel syndrome treatment, using both gentle chiropractic care and acupuncture to provide carpal tunnel syndrome treatment.
What is Carpal Tunnel
The carpal tunnel is a narrow passageway in your wrist. This passageway comes up through the bones (carpals) and ligaments on the palm side of your hand. The median nerve passes through this narrow passageway to control the muscles in your hand, thumb and 3 of your 4 fingers. (The median nerve doesn’t control your pinky finger.)
When the median nerve is compressed, the symptoms can include numbness, tingling and weakness in the hand and arm.
Carpal tunnel syndrome occurs when the tunnel becomes narrowed or when tissues surrounding the flexor tendons swell, putting pressure on the median nerve. 1 This swelling causes pressure on the median nerve causing pain, numbness and tingling in the hand and arm.2 Left untreated, this pressure on the nerve can eventually cause permanent nerve and muscle damage.
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Symptoms
One of the most common symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome is pain, numbness or tingling in the hand and arm. These symptoms are usually mild at first but it increase in severity as the condition progresses.
Carpal tunnel syndrome stiffness and immobility is often most severe in the morning. However, the pain from carpal tunnel syndrome is often most severe at night, preventing healthy, restful sleep.
Since carpal tunnel syndrome affects the nerves and muscles that control the hand, performing common everyday tasks like picking up a glass can become difficult. Weakness is often mild at first, increasing as the conditions progresses.
Because carpal tunnel syndrome involves the nerves, other symptoms include other symptoms such as:
- a burning sensation in the hands/fingers
- itching in the hands/fingers
- feeling as if the hands/fingers are swollen, even if they’re not.
- reduced sensitivity to hot and cold in the hand/ fingers.
In its early stages, carpal tunnel syndrome symptoms may include your hand tingles and feels weak, or the fingers numb, or both.
Diagnosing Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
Carpal tunnel syndrome involves nerve pain due to compression in the wrist. Unfortunately, pressure on nerves in the neck due to disc problems or arthritis can cause similar symptoms. To confirm the diagnosis, diagnostic imaging may be required. A nerve conduction study can measure the severity of the compression on the nerve if surgery is needed.
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Treatment
Numbness, tingling and pain in your hands, fingers and wrist is an example of an ounce of prevention being worth a pound of cure. Early correct diagnosis and treatment can dramatically improve your outcome. Treatment modalities depend upon the cause and severity of your symptoms.
Advanced Wellness Solutions offers natural, drug free carpal tunnel syndrome treatment. Gentle chiropractic care can treat the mechanical nature while acupuncture can address the underlying symptom of inflammation that causes the tissues inside the wrist to swell.
Early intervention is important to avoid surgery. We’ve had outstanding success using our two pronged approach to treating carpal tunnel syndrome.
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Left Untreated
It’s important to seek treatment if you have signs and symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome that interfere with your normal activities and sleep patterns. Permanent nerve and muscle damage can occur without treatment.
You should always seek treatment for symptoms of tingling, numbness and radiating pain. These are possible symptoms of nerve impingement. Symptoms will progress if carpal tunnel syndrome is left untreated. You’ll begin dropping things. Activities that require fine finger movements, such as writing or fastening buttons, will become more difficult. You may begin to feel you are losing coordinated movement of your fingers. Moving your thumb may also become difficult. Again, these could also be symptoms of pressure on nerves in the neck due to disc problems or arthritis, so if you don’t schedule treatment with Advanced Wellness Solutions, be sure to discuss your symptoms with your health care professional.
Carpal tunnel syndrome is the compression of the median nerve which can lead to permanent nerve and muscle damage without treatment.
Should I Start with Chiropractic Care or Acupuncture to Treat Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.
It’s up to you which path you wish to take on your journey of carpal tunnel syndrome treatment.
Chiropractic care addresses the mechanics of musculoskeletal pain while acupuncture addresses inflammation (causing the swelling) and helps natural healing to occur in the body. Choosing to take a two-pronged approach by combining chiropractic and acupuncture can accelerate natural healing. Our patients who have chosen to take this approach have been delighted with the results.
Chiropractic care and acupuncture can work alone, together or even along side other medical treatments.
Which ever path you decide to take, your first appointment will take approximately 60 minutes. This gives you plenty of time to communicate your concerns to our health care providers. Whichever path you take, rest assured that the health care professionals at Advanced Wellness Solutions will work together to resolve carpal tunnel syndrome symptoms. If we can’t help, we’ll get you where you need to go for your best treatment options.
Revised July 2, 2021
Chiropractic Treatment: Thoracic T4 Syndrome
Thoracic T4 Syndrome symptoms include upper back discomfort and diffuse pain in the arms. Thoracic T4 Syndrome occurs when the T4 vertebrate in the spine is damaged and causes pain in the back and into the arms.
Your upper back hurts and your hands are swollen and feel heavy. As you read the symptoms of T4 syndrome, you realize that if you look at your hand long enough, you could swear they’re turning blue.
It’s understandable that you would look up these symptoms online before scheduling an appointment to see your health care provider. If you typed your symptoms into a search engine and saw a possible diagnosis of “T4 syndrome” which lead you here, STOP! Schedule an appointment with your physician or chiropractor and allow them to make a diagnosis. Your health care professional needs to rule out any cardiac, respiratory or visceral issues before making a diagnosis of Thoracic T4 Syndrome.
It’s important to keep in mind when checking with “Dr. Google” and his associate “Dr. WebMd” that neither are trained and licensed health care professionals. Instead, their “higher calling” is to get you to pick up the phone and schedule an appointment with a trained and licensed health care professional such as a chiropractor. A chiropractor is able to diagnose and treat T4 syndrome.
If you live near Stuart, Florida, Advanced Wellness Solutions has two Martin County, Florida locations offering gentle chiropractic care.
What is T4 syndrome?
T4 syndrome symptoms include upper back discomfort and diffuse pain in the arms
When the nerves become at T4 damaged, the pain and discomfort caused is known as T4 Syndrome. T4 syndrome is rare yet deceptive issue that can present in many different ways.
T4 syndrome most often appears in people whose profession requires long hours in the same position. Working at a computer most of the work day would be a perfect example.
Check out our article 7 Tips to Creating an Ergonomic Home Office
T4 syndrome can be confused with carpal tunnel syndrome, myofascial pain syndromes, cervical spine degenerative conditions, thoracic outlet syndrome, cardiac pain and pain originating from the viscera.
It is crucial that you seek the advice of a qualified healthcare professional if you are experiencing any of the symptoms of T4 syndrome.
What causes T4 syndrome?
Symptoms may arise following a change in normal routine. A new job or hobby may require constant extreme postures which can lead to blood loss in multiple tissues contributing to symptoms.
Another possible cause for T4 syndrome is that the facet joints in the thoracic spine become damage, either from poor posture or trauma. This causes inflammation to the nerve root at that level, leading to symptoms of T4 syndrome.
More often found in women than men, the reason for the sex discrepancy for T4 syndrome is unknown.
What are the symptoms of T4 syndrome?
The symptoms of T4 syndrome can vary and presents as:
- Neck pain
- Headaches
- Upper limb pain (bilateral or unilateral)
- Pain around the T4 area
- Scapular pain
- Reduced hand dexterity
- Thoracic spine stiffness
- Tenderness on palpation of T4 vertebra
- An abnormal sensation tingling, pricking, chilling, burning, or numbness with no apparent physical cause in all five digits, or whole hand, or forearm-hand
- feeling heaviness in the upper extremities
- Hands feel hot or cold
- Hand may feel and/or appear swollen
- Non-dermatomal aches/pains in arm and/or forearm
- Pain often described as crushing or like a tight band
How do you treat T4 syndrome?
Treatment for T4 syndrome includes:
- Chiropractic adjustments
- Soft tissue work on the upper back and neck muscles
- Ultrasound
- TENS unit
- Postural exercises
- Stretching muscles of the chest
- Strengthening muscles of the upper back
- At home exercises to keep good posture
If you are experiencing symptoms of T4 syndrome and wish to discuss your treatments options, please call 855-509-5400 so schedule your appointment with Advanced Wellness Solutions.