Wrist & Hand Pain

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS) occurs when a major nerve that comes from your neck, travels down your arm and into your hand, gets compressed at the wrist. It can cause pain, numbness, weakness and tingling in the wrist, hand, thumb and forearm, and if left untreated, can lead to surgery.

The compressed nerve, called the Median nerve, acts like a short circuit in your home and causes these problems. The compression occurs due to inflamed tendons and ligaments in the wrist which result from repetitive typing, using the mouse for long periods, and performing repetitive tasks.

I find that patients who suffer from CTS usually also complain from neck pain because the same nerves, including the Median nerve, originate in the neck and can be compressed by straining the neck. In fact, many symptoms of CTS appear after some type of neck injury.

Unfortunately, most of my patients that came to see me complaining of CTS symptoms were not aware that chiropractic was an excellent treatment option. Many had undergone surgery in one hand already and now the other hand was showing signs of CTS. I have also seen patients that had complications from the surgery from scar tissue formation and the symptoms had returned. It is always preferable to try a non-invasive approach like chiropractic, acupuncture and nutritional therapy for CTS before considering surgery, which should only be used as a last resort.