What Is The Carpal Tunnel Whiplash Connection?
Carpal tunnel symptoms typically come on slowly. Day after day we are able to type at the computer with no problem and then one morning a little tingling in the fingers develops. We
shake our hands, stretch the fingers, and try to go back to the keyboard. But inevitably the tingling continues and seems to worsen as we try to do our work.
Why does this occur? Why are we fine one day, and the next we have disabling pain that interferes with our ability to work? This can be very distressing psychologically and many patients with carpal tunnel symptoms show signs of depression.
So what was the event that triggered the problem? A chiropractic or medical doctor may ask about a trauma to the wrist bones but most patients will not say they suffered an accidental injury. Often times, both hands seem to be affected and trauma is usually seen when landing on one wrist, with symptoms following within minutes or days of the event.
But carpal tunnel is much different. The symptoms come on slowly and out of nowhere. Typing is fine one day, and the next we cannot complete our work at the keyboard.
Carpal tunnel symptoms come from the nerves that pass through the wrist. Those nerves begin in the neck, cross the shoulder and go down the arm before entering the carpal tunnel that is formed by the bones in the wrist.
Typing is not a traumatic motion for the fingers and the hand. One has to look at other potential areas where the nerves travel. These areas can become traumatized from accidents. The neck is especially vulnerable to trauma from car accidents and sports injuries. The delicate ligaments and discs of the neck can be injured when the head is whipped around from trauma.
Unfortunately when we type, the neck is usually in a forward bent position, especially if the typist has to look at the keyboard while working. If the computer user is in this position for many hours during the day, the nerves can eventually become stretched, producing pain, tingling and numbness. If those same nerves were traumatized from a whiplash injury, forward head position alone can be enough to bring on symptoms. This is why it is important that a doctor looks at more than just the wrist areas when examining the patient.
When the low back is injured, leg pain or sciatica can result. The problem is rarely caused by a problem in the leg. Carpal tunnel symptoms act the same way. If your carpal tunnel symptoms don’t seem to respond to wrist treatments, consult a chiropractor who will do a detailed examination of all areas that could be causing the problem, especially the neck. Tell the doctor about any traumas to the spine you may have suffered in the past. Injuries from even decades earlier can be the hidden cause of your problem and are very significant.
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For More Information log on to: www.relieffromcarpal tunnel.com
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome In Your Neck?
Over the decades we have come to expect that a pain or tingling in the hand and wrist means there is a local injury in the area. Since many surgeries are done each year on the wrist to relieve these symptoms, it seems logical that this is the case. But many patients with “successful” surgeries still have problems over time. Others get only temporary relief and the problem quickly returns. Other patients can develop wrist and hand symptoms that mimic carpal tunnel syndrome, after a whiplash injury or sprain/strain of the neck. These patients may not have any trauma at all to the wrist and hand area but have severe hand pain. Why does this occur?
One possibility is that the carpal tunnel diagnosis was incorrect. Because your body is interconnected with joints and nerves, symptoms often occur at another location from that of the actual problem. Taking this approach is more holistic, vs. the often-fragmented medical view of things. We have doctors of the feet, the eyes, and various other body parts. These types of specialists, while often good at specific problems, can sometimes miss diagnoses that are complex and involve multiple body systems.
More and more research has shown this to be the case in carpal tunnel patients. A study from 2006 looked at the spines of patients with carpal tunnel syndrome. MRI’s, x-rays, and nerve testing were done on patients with carpal tunnel syndrome, and another group with referred pain from the neck and into the wrist and hand. Another group of subjects, with no symptoms at all, served as the control. The x-rays showed that degeneration of the disks in the neck were present in both patient groups. The MRI took things a step further, to see if the tiny holes between the neck bones showed narrowing and a pincer effect on the nerves.
This study showed that in carpal tunnel syndrome there is often degenerative changes in the neck and supported the “double-crush” nerve hypothesis. Seeing a doctor of chiropractic to make sure that your wrist and neck is properly examined is key to proper diagnosis. Without proper assessments, treatments are often unsuccessful, especially surgery. Before embarking on the more invasive option of surgery, consider conservative chiropractic care. If the problem in your wrist is more a problem in your neck, specific wrist treatments will be ineffective.
If you are interested in more information on how I treat CTS log on to www.ReliefFromCarpalTunnel.com and order a free report.
Carpal Tunnel and Its Diagnosis
Pain in the wrist and hand can be a difficult thing to diagnose properly. The first problem is deciding what type of doctor to see. A chiropractor, internist, orthopedist, rheumatologist, 
or neurologist, will all agree to schedule you for an appointment, but who is best?
At your visit it’s important to have a thorough examination and to ask a lot of questions. I’d be skeptical if the doctor only examines the wrist and hand, and leaves out the elbow, shoulder and neck. The reason this is the case is that problems of the neck and other joints distal to the pain, can refer pain into the wrist and hand. Not all wrist pains are a problem with constriction at the carpal tunnel. Pain into the hand can come from compression of nerves in the neck. Your carpal tunnel pain needs to separated from a problem in the neck, such as a radiculopathy or thoracic outlet syndrome.
Your doctor should ask are how long the problem has lasted, and if there has been any trauma. Trauma to the neck is especially important, and could be a sign that your wrist problem is really a neck injury.
Some patients simply need to have their computer monitor adjusted, or are given stretching exercises to do between long periods at the computer keyboard. The stretching may be for the wrist, but should also address the entire arm and neck to be comprehensive. How we sit and whether there is forward head posture are also important considerations. The forward head posture can stretch your spinal cord and nerve roots making the nerves more susceptible to pressure when they eventually pass through the carpal tunnel.
In others, the problem of joint alignment needs to be properly addressed. Through specific chiropractic adjustments, the motion of the joints and their alignment can be restored. The misalignments may occur at the wrist or even the neck.
I am Dr. Paul Kramer D.C. and I treat many patients with carpal tunnel symptoms. Sometimes the problem is local to the wrist but most patients will require a more comprehensive approach. If you’d like care that emphasizes proper posture and alignment and avoids the problems of long- term medication use, then log on to www.relieffromcarpaltunnel.com
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