Carpal tunnel syndrome affects the wrist and hands. It can cause pain, tingling or numbness, these are typically the most common complaints with it. In some cases, the syndrome is so bad that it is necessary for surgery to try and rectify the problem. This should be a last case scenario as there is a process that should be followed before taking that decision. All healthcare providers should follow this sequence, however some sadly don’t. How can you fix carpal tunnel syndrome is key to getting the pain and discomfort down in a controlled and applied manner.
So if you’ve been told to get surgery for your CTS, then read this before you do anything else.
Consider this excerpt from a 2017 Washington State CTS treatment guideline:
All of the following criteria must be met for surgery to be authorized:
- The clinical presentation is consistent with CTS
- The EDS [electrodiagnostic studies] criteria for CTS have been met
- The patient has failed to respond to conservative treatment that included wrist splinting and/or injection
Point 3 on that excerpt says the patient has failed to respond to conservative treatment. What is this?
Conservative treatment is therapies that can be applied to the condition. These therapies and treatments are all non invasive and carry very minimal risk of side effects. They are simple to apply and in most cases should help clear up the syndrome. What are some of these therapies and treatments?
1. Eating anti inflammatory foods
This is foods and herbs such as ginger, salmon and tumeric. There are many more, but consuming these foods help to cut down the amount of inflammation in the body, including the carpal tunnel.
2. Wear a wrist splint
Wearing a wrist splint at night helps to give support to the wrist and prevent it from being bent during sleep. This can also be worn in the day as well if symptoms are bad and then gradually can be used less as the symptoms subside.
3. Glucocorticoids injections
Injections directly into the carpal tunnel can also provide temporary relief and enable the sufferer some respite from the condition.
4. Exercises
Simple stretches and exercises prescribed for carpal tunnel syndrome sufferers can really help the condition as well.
5. Chiropractic treatment
This is one of the best conservative forms of treatment that can be applied to the carpal tunnel. Using manual adjustments and applied stretches, carpal tunnel syndrome can be brought under control in just a few visits. More treatments may be needed for more chronic symptoms.
A combination of any or all of the above can certainly accelerate healing and reducing the effects of carpal tunnel syndrome. Only if the above fail, then should surgery be contemplated. So the question how can you fix carpal tunnel syndrome is answered by eating anti inflammatory foods, wearing a wrist splint, pain relieving injections, prescribed exercises and chiropractic treatment. If all these fail, then surgery may be the next step.
Come in and see us anytime, we would love to help you. Getting patients out of pain and back to a full life is why we do what we do. We are walk in friendly, but if you want to make an appointment, we can help you there as well. Call today 360-951-4504.
