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Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
What is Carpal Tunnel Syndrome?The carpal tunnel is an area in the wrist through which the 9 flexor tendons and the medial nerve pass. In CTS, the theory is that the nerve somehow gets compressed by a narrowing of this canal. This is another recently popularized condition that was almost unheard of just a few decades ago. Now, the condition has become a full blown epidemic.Carpal Tunnel Syndrome SymptomsNumbness, tingling and pain in the hand and wrist are the most common symptoms of CTS. These symptoms are often worse when moving the hand and especially bad when the wrist is bent at a severe angle. Many patients find pain worse at night, since they can not control their hand position when trying to sleep. It is possible for a person with severe CTS symptoms to lose function in the hand or individual fingers, although this is rare.Carpal Tunnel Syndrome TreatmentThe usual treatment routine for this condition follows a progressive path:* OTC medication and use of an orthotic wrist brace. * Physical therapy and prescription
pain management.
There are many doctors who might push a patient into surgery early in the treatment process. The operation is simple and profitable, and many doctors have created a real niche performing specialized CTS surgery. It is unfortunate that CTS is rarely actually caused by a physical restriction in the carpal tunnel. Therefore, treatment is often unsuccessful or creates the opportunity for substitute symptoms to occur. Psychosomatic Carpal Tunnel SyndromeMost cases of CTS are caused by a psychological process. The reality of most pain is oxygen deprivation of the wrist tendons and/or medial nerve. This condition is clinically identical to traditional CTS and is rarely diagnosed as a psychological condition. Knowledge therapy has worked wonders for CTS patients, establishing a definite link between painful symptoms and unresolved emotional issues.Recommendation on Carpal Tunnel SyndromeI have heard all sorts of non-sense when it comes to CTS. Some doctors blame the epidemic on the boom in computer usage. I think these doctors never heard of a typewriter. People were typing in office pools for 12 hours straight and there was no CTS to be diagnosed or treated. Other doctors blame assembly type work or any other activity involving extensive manipulation of the hands and wrists. People have been working with their hands for millions of years. Why would this tiny area suddenly become such a problem? IT WOULDN’T and IT ISN’T. The reality of CTS is that it is one of the "in vogue" pain syndromes of our time. It is also ridiculously easy for doctors to use this condition to milk the insurance system. This might be one of the reasons for the common nocebo effect given to patients from a scary sounding diagnosis.I used to have some horrible tendonitis as a pre-teen and teen. It was always in my wrists and hands. I play drums and attributed the pain to that activity. It made sense at the time. This is before the popularization of the CTS diagnosis, THANK GOD!!! Who knows what type of nightmarish treatment I may have endured had I complained about this pain syndrome today??? Well, my wrist tendonitis eventually disappeared. I was about 16 when it finally ended. My doctor thought that my wrists “finally developed enough strength to keep drumming without pain.” That’s funny, since I had been playing hours a day for 12 years already!!! What’s even funnier was that the same year my tendonitis ended, my back pain began. This is obviously a classic case of symptom substitution and escalation based upon the increased need to create a more effective distraction for my repressed emotional issues. Looking back, my CTS-type symptoms were one of the starting conditions for my 18 year struggle with back pain. It just proves that patients are prone to many forms of psychological pain and the mind will often escalate the pain till it has achieved the desired goal of controlling a person’s conscious thoughts. For me, it controlled (and almost ruined) my life…
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