Carpal Tunnel Syndrome: Risks And How To Reduce Them

Carpal tunnel syndrome occurs when there’s pressure on the median nerve. Your risk of developing this condition increases if you’re overweight, take certain medications, or do repetitive tasks at work, among other factors. You can help prevent carpal tunnel syndrome by maintaining a healthy weight, frequently taking breaks at work, and keeping a good posture.

If you’re living with carpal tunnel now, our doctors can help you manage your symptoms. After we evaluate your condition, we can prescribe you a treatment that may include chiropractic care, physical therapy, rehabilitation, pain management, and neurology. Contact Naples Community Injury Center at (239) 631-5445 to learn more.

What Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Involves

Mature Man Suffering With Repetitive Strain Injury

Mayo Clinic describes the carpal tunnel as a thin passageway surrounded by ligaments and bones on the palm side of the hand. When the nerve has pressure on it, carpal tunnel syndrome can occur. Common symptoms of this condition include:

  • Weakness: You may have a hard time holding onto objects and keeping a firm grip on them, so you end up dropping them.
  • Tingling or numbness: You might feel an electric shock sensation that travels down your arm and through all of your fingers except the pinkie. People usually experience these symptoms most intensely while driving, waking up, or holding their phones.

Risks Associated With Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

If you find yourself in any of these categories, know that it’s not guaranteed that you’re going to suffer from carpal tunnel syndrome. However, you might be at a greater risk of developing it due to:

  • Sex: A woman’s carpal tunnel tends to be smaller than a man’s. This lack of space can put more pressure on the nerve over time.
  • Obesity: The excess weight on the body can compress the median nerve.
  • Workplace factors: Doing repetitive movements and working with vibrating tools, especially in a cold environment, can put pressure on the carpal tunnel and even cause further already-existing nerve damage.
  • Changes in bodily fluid: Most common in menopause and pregnancy, fluid retention can add pressure and end up irritating the median nerve. Women usually notice the pain letting up when they’re postpartum.
  • Chronic illnesses: Diabetes, for example, can increase nerve damage, including the median nerve.
  • Inflammatory conditions: These illnesses, such as rheumatoid arthritis, can impact the lining of the wrist tendons, which compress the carpal tunnel.

How to Help Prevent Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

Although there is not one way to prevent carpal tunnel syndrome, you can do a few things to help alleviate some of the pressure, such as:

  • Staying warm: If you work or live in a cold environment, keep your hands warm as much as possible. Otherwise, you may risk experiencing pain and stiffness in your hand. Consider wearing gloves if you don’t have control over the temperature at work.
  • Relaxing your grip: If you work on the computer, don’t type with so much force. Instead, try to be gentle.
  • Taking short breaks periodically: If you work with your hands, make it a habit to stretch out your wrists and bend your hands a few times within an hour. Overworking your hands could end up putting too much pressure on the carpal tunnel.
  • Maintaining good posture: Be mindful of how you’re sitting and standing. If you find yourself in a hunchback, these shortened neck and shoulder muscles could end up compressing your fingers, hands, and wrists.
  • Avoiding hand overextension: If you work at a computer, keep the keyboard level with your elbows, so you don’t bend your wrist up or down.

How Our Team Can Treat Your Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

Inflammation (Swelling) and Stiffness in the Ulnar Wrist Joint or Osteoarthritis

If you suffer from carpal tunnel syndrome, our team of doctors can form a treatment plan that is tailored to what you need. Although we acknowledge that everyone is different, we have seen that certain methods have shown to be especially helpful for our patients dealing with carpal tunnel syndrome. They include:

  • Chiropractic adjustments: One of our chiropractors will manipulate your spine, joints, and ligaments into proper alignment to take the pressure off the nerves, helping relieve inflammation and swelling.
  • Physical therapy: We can show you different stretches to help you regain flexibility, while strengthening your hands and wrists without aggravating the pain in your forearm. This treatment can also help improve blood circulation.
  • Rehabilitation: On top of building strength, we may have you wear wrist splints at night to help relieve your symptoms.
  • Pain management: We apply this treatment in conjunction with others for the most effective results. Pain management techniques may include massage therapy, acupuncture, and cold therapy and help enhance mobility and range of motion in the hands, wrists, forearms, and fingers.

The length of treatment depends on the severity of your condition, how it affects your daily life, and how well you respond to treatment.

If You Developed Carpal Tunnel Syndrome at Work

Many of our patients with carpal tunnel syndrome do repetitive movements at work or use vibrating tools. If you believe your carpal tunnel syndrome is a work injury, you may qualify to file a workers’ compensation claim. You need to have solid evidence that demonstrates this connection between your job and injury for your claim to be successful, though. Our doctors can offer our expertise so you can receive fair benefits.

Different types of evidence we can supply include:

  • Our testimony
  • Doctor’s notes if you have to skip work to let your injury heal or receive treatment
  • Documentation of your appointments
  • A list of treatments, medications, and equipment you’ve been prescribed
  • A full diagnosis and prognosis of your carpal tunnel syndrome

If you want further assistance with handling your claim, we can direct you to one of the attorneys in our network.

Call to Learn More About Risks and Prevention for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

If you think you’re at risk or currently suffer from carpal tunnel syndrome, Naples Community Injury Center can administer treatment that can help you prevent and/or manage your symptoms. We can help you get the relief you’ve been looking for.

Call today at (239) 631-5445 to schedule an appointment.