Denver Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Health Center

At our Denver Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Health Center we get a lot of questions about this syndrome. As we become more sedentary in our life and work we tend to become more focused on using tools like our cell phone to text, the computer and video games. With this repetitive motion for prolonged periods of time carpal tunnel syndrome has become more and more prevalent. Here are some answers about Carpal Tunnel Syndrome that we often get asked about in our clinic.

Q: What is causing my carpal tunnel syndrome?

A: There is a nerve that originates in your neck, travels the length of your arms, goes through your carpal tunnel at your wrists, and ends down at your first three fingers called the median nerve. When the median nerve gets irritated or inflamed, you get numbness and tingling in your arm and fingers along the nerve pathway.

Q: How does my median nerve get irritated?

A: There are a number of places that your median nerve can be entrapped or irritated, but the most common place is your carpal tunnel. You carpal tunnel consists of the bones in your wrist and a strip of connective tissue called the flexor retinaculum. These structures form a tunnel where muscles, blood vessels, and the median nerve pass through. When your wrist bones are not in their proper place from a trauma or repetitive abnormal posture, this can create a smaller tunnel, which encroaches on the median nerve. If the muscles in your forearm are inflamed, this can also cause median nerve irritation.

Q: Besides the carpal tunnel, where else can my median nerve be entrapped?

<A: Since your median nerve runs from your neck down to your fingers, there are a few places that it can become entrapped and irritated. There is a muscle in your forearm called the pronator terres that rotates your palm up and down. The median nerve passes through this muscle and if you have a job where you are repetitively using this muscle, the median nerve can become irritated and entrapped by adhesive tissue. Someone who uses a screwdriver repetitively can experience this, or a hair dresser for example.

Q: What can I do to alleviate my carpal tunnel symptoms?

A: One of the first and most effective ways of reducing or eliminating the numbness and tingling into your hands is to get your wrists checked by your chiropractor. When the tiny bones in your wrist are not moving like they should be, you get muscle and nerve irritation, causing your symptoms. A specific chiropractic adjustment increases the motion of your bones and relieves the pressure around the nerve, decreasing the irritation. There are also forearm stretches that you can do to decrease the tension of your muscles. Talk to your chiropractor about stretches and ways to break up scar tissue, so that your median nerve is free to move without irritation.

---

Dr. Visentin is a Denver Chiropractor of Care Chiropractic specializing in safe, effective and natural relief for carpal tunnel syndrome.

Tags: C.T.S. Denver, carpal tunnel syndrome, carpaltunnel, causes for carpal tunnel syndrome, Denver chiropractic, Dr. Visentin D.C., nerves, treatments, wrist, wrists

Legal Disclaimer: The information provided on this website is intended for your general knowledge. It is not to be used as a substitute for professional advice, or for treatment for a specific condition. Always seek the advice of a professional Chiropractor or other qualified health care provider with questions you may have regarding any condition.

This entry was posted on Sunday, August 1st, 2010 at 1:40 am and is filed under Carpaltunnel Articles. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.