Your arm aches. Your fingers are numb and tingling. Sometimes the pain is so bad that it’s impossible to sleep. What’s wrong? Chances are that you have Carpal Tunnel Syndrome [CTS] or a related Repetitive Stress Injury [RSI].
So what caused it? Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is one of the fastest growing of the Repetitive Stress Injuries. RSIs are caused by living: keystrokes on the computer, using a mouse, repeating the same reaching motion at work and so on. As a motion is repeated, the tissues become stressed and begin to form scar tissue and adhesions. These in turn put pressure on the nerves, causing nerve entrapments.
Traditional treatment of CTS includes splinting, anti-inflammatory drugs, cortisone injections and surgery. While each of these treatments may have its place, too often the burning, tingling, numbness and pain continue. Why? In a study by Dr. P. Michael Leahy, published in 1995, it was reported that, in over 500 cases of peripheral nerve entrapment, only two cases involved the actual carpal tunnel. In the majority of CTS cases, the nerve entrapments actually occur further up the arm, closer to the elbow. So what looks like Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is most likely Pseudo-CTS.
How can ART so effectively treat CTS or Pseydo-CTS? ART succeeds where traditional treatments fail because ART locates and removes the true cause of the problem—the adhesive restrictions that compress the median nerve or other nerves at multiple locations in the wrist, arm, shoulders and neck. By feeling where the nerve is entrapped, the ART practitioner is able to provide tension at the site of the adhesion and, through a series of motions, break down that adhesion. When the nerve is no longer compressed, symptoms gradually lessen and disappear.
After successful treatment of your CTS or Pseudo-CTS, your ART provider will give you exercises to do throughout your day to lessen the chances of reinjury.
