A recent Canadian study of workers that underwent Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS) surgery found that a majority of these patients still had moderate to severe pain. About half of these patients had difficult grasping small objects and only about 10% experienced significant improvement.
CTS is basically the compression of a nerve in the wrist that causes numbness, tingling, weakness or pain in the hand and fingers.
The most common risk factors for CTS include:
*Obesity- Obesity can double to quadruple the incidence of CTS.
*Diabetes- Diabetes can greatly increase the risk of CTS especially Type I diabetes.
*History of Trauma- Tendinitis or wrist fracture also increases the CTS risk factor.
*Female Gender- Females have a quadruple chance of developing CTS.
*Vibration- Jobs such as construction increase the risk.
*Repetitive Motion- Typists, mechanics are a couple of the jobs that increase the CTS risk factor.
The diagnosis of CTS is made through different clinical observations. History and physical examination are important in determining a proper diagnosis. Other tests such as Electro-diagnostic testing and MRIs are also useful in diagnosis CTS. Usually though, a thorough examination is the most important factor in determining the cause of this condition.
“I always use conservative measures to treat Carpal Tunnel patients,” explained Dr. Steven Read, a Jacksonville chiropractor. “Surgery should always be a last resort, since its success rate isn’t the greatest,” he added.
Treatment consists of fitting for a proper wrist support to take pressure off the trapped nerve and physical therapy forms to help reduce inflammation in the wrist. “I also use laser therapy and vitamin B6 has shown to help in treating CTS,” said Dr. Read, clinic director of Ortega Chiropractic clinic in Jacksonville, Florida. “It is a very painful condition for most patients, but we do get some very good results,” he added.
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