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Carpal tunnel syndrome, really?
- Thread starter Raman
- Start date
My story is a bit different from yours but before surgery I would recommend seeing someone who specializes in the cervical spine. Three orthopedic drs told me I needed carpal tunnel surgery. I started getting steroid injections in my hands which would help for a short time but the symptoms would come back. Finally I went to a dr that specializes in spinal issues who listened to my story and suspected the issue was my neck. I got an MRI which confirmed this. I did also get the the EMG and other tests as well. I do have mild CTS but PT focused on neck and shoulders provides immediate and relief. I also use a lacrosse ball to loosen up the neck/shoulder muscles.
A simple test my doc did to confirn my CTS diagnosis was to push on the inside of my wrist with his thumb and hold it there (compressing the carpal tunnel). After about 20 or 30 seconds it triggered my symtpoms. If you do this and it doesn't trigger your symtpons I'd definitely look for a second opinion...
Yeah, the old “I’m not a Doctor, but I do play as one on the internet.”
Get a second opinion from someone who knows more than Dr. Google. Even hearing personal experience from others on TB isn’t worth much, if anything.
Get a second opinion from someone who knows more than Dr. Google. Even hearing personal experience from others on TB isn’t worth much, if anything.
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Sounds like you need to see another doctor. My wife and I both had CT and your symptoms are nothing like ours, or any other person I've known with CT. Unless you know for sure that it's CT and it is pretty severe, I'd recommend doing everything possible to avoid surgery. My surgery caused more issues than it cured. So instead of numbness and tingling, I had my fingers locking up and a case of trigger finger. It took several rounds of cortisone injections to get it under control. I still have stiffness in that hand, but running it under hot water usually gets it to loosen up. I hope you get your issue figured out.
sounds like you might have mild carpal tunnel, that is it probably showed up on the tests. i think you might actually have trigger finger. if your fingers are freezing and you have to open them up again, thats probably trigger finger. I've had trigger finger before, its pretty frightening. Trigger finger responds really well to cortisone injections actually and if your doctor thinks its trigger finger, then they'll probably do that if things dont improve.
im just getting over a pretty nasty case of tendinitis myself in both hands. took three months to get here.
The braces help, think of it this way in your sleep you bend your wrists in weird positions, and when you wear the braces to sleep, your hands are at rest in the optimal resting position for 8 hours.
idealy youd want to avoid surgery but carpal tunnel surgery is usually very successful in reducing and eliminating symptoms as many here will tell you
with that in mind, that surgery or cortisone is a option why not do the physical therepy in the mean time?
im just getting over a pretty nasty case of tendinitis myself in both hands. took three months to get here.
The braces help, think of it this way in your sleep you bend your wrists in weird positions, and when you wear the braces to sleep, your hands are at rest in the optimal resting position for 8 hours.
idealy youd want to avoid surgery but carpal tunnel surgery is usually very successful in reducing and eliminating symptoms as many here will tell you
with that in mind, that surgery or cortisone is a option why not do the physical therepy in the mean time?
Another thing to think about, which I just recalled reading about this morning, is a problem with your flexor tendon. This will be similar to trigger finger but can affect the whole hand, like you describe. I'd ask your doctor about this, as well.
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On the contrary, if I hadn't asked others about their experiences with some of the issues I have, I'd be bedridden. Doctors are great and very useful but not all of them are equally informed. An informed patient can really cut through some of the clatter and help bring things to a focus. Granted most of us do not have enough medical training to make great decisions about complicated medical issues, but knowing what questions to ask can help tremendously.
Problems arise when someone who is uninformed begins to think they know better than the doctors without any good reason for thinking so, or when they fixate on a particular "cure" without considering that there may be reasons that treatment isn't right for them. These are the horror stories that lead doctors to make snarky remarks about "Dr. Google." It's a shame because it keeps patients from seeking knowledge, and it keeps some doctors from listening to patients with an open mind.
I know how to read medical journals and research which treatments have evidence for efficacy, but most people don't. So there's that, too. In general, it's a good idea to work with your doctor in these things, and part of that for me is learning as much as I can about the possibilities. Being your own advocate when it comes to health care is very much a necessity, especially nowadays when doctors have limited time to research the less common complaints.
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This may sound like an old wives tale but I also suffer from carpal tunnel which I got over using glucosamine and other supplements however I’ve had trigger finger that locks up my finger and I have to use my other hand to straighten it out so I started powering cold pressed virgin olive oil. Within 30 days my trigger finger was gone and that’s after having it for 2 1/2 years so my suggestion for a natural healing solution is to power the heck out of olive oil Cold pressed virgin olive oil. The other benefits from the oil is my skin health returned. I put the oil on everything. Along with lemon. Try a table spoon of the oil mixed with fresh a squeezed lemon tablespoon. Morning and night.
This resonates with my experience. Several years ago I was on a gig and some of my fingers started locking down due to forearm cramping. I read a bunch of crap on the internet and started to freak out, but then my SIL, a nurse practitioner and a hydration drill sergeant, reminded me that it sounded a lot like the kind of charlie horse spasms I used to get in my calves that would lock my toes up in a very painful way. The answer to those was always better hydration and potassium.
So, long story short, I ate a bunch of bananas and got well hydrated, and the symptoms went away. However, like @LBS-bass , I don't really like bananas so I found a supplement that I can add to a 32 oz. jug of water. I now drink 2 of these every morning while running on the elliptical, and haven't had a cramp of any sort since.
Granted, this is anecdotal, but there is no real downside to real hydration and if it doesn't work, you can just stop!
oh yes be careful with electrolyte supplements, overdosing on them or causing heart complications with them is very possible if you over do them, especially potassium, gonna wanna talk to a doctor about starting that, and maybe get a nutrion panel on your bloodwork
An excellent point! Health professionals are mortal human beings; hence, they're neither omniscient nor infallible. OP, you're the one suffering the symptoms, so it's wise to learn about what may cause them. At the least, you'll be better able to interact with the doctors you come in contact with.
I agree with the folks above who've commented that it doesn't sound like CT. I had a relatively mild case a long time ago, but it never curled my fingers. The fix was to wear the wrist splints when I slept, for a couple months.
Not saying it will address your particular problem, but I learned about an inexpensive gadget that IME does help relax and loosen up the wrist, forearm, and hand. (And once you get the hang of spinning it up, it's fun. Well, I find it soothing, anyway.) My advice, if you decide to get one: avoid the knockoffs (get the real thing), and pick the model with the wind up spring starter (auto start).
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- Sep 4, 2010
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Honestly, my 1st thought was dehydration, given my own cramp-history vs the symptoms you describe, as in not drinking enough water or herbal tea, and starting the day with a big mug of black coffee.
Still doing the coffee, but 1st thing in the morning I now drink a big glass of water, and generally keep myself drinking water throughout the day, especially inbetween meals.
It has been really helping me (overall feeling less tired, less hungry, better focused, and less cramping up). Not keeping myself hydrated didn't bother me so much in my younger days, but since i've been in my fifties it has been bothering me substantially.
Not saying it is "the" cure, but it has helped, and helped me a lot. Good luck.
Still doing the coffee, but 1st thing in the morning I now drink a big glass of water, and generally keep myself drinking water throughout the day, especially inbetween meals.
It has been really helping me (overall feeling less tired, less hungry, better focused, and less cramping up). Not keeping myself hydrated didn't bother me so much in my younger days, but since i've been in my fifties it has been bothering me substantially.
Not saying it is "the" cure, but it has helped, and helped me a lot. Good luck.
I am not a doctor and this is not intended as medical advice!!
A possible scenario would be that nerves involved going to your hand may be compressed somewhere en-route (most likely at the spine). I had all kinds of problems with one of my hands, the source of which was purely somewhere else, my spine. Older guys tend to have a lot of worn/misaligned disks that lead to nerve compression.
After getting in shape doing a lot of Pilates type exercises, hot/cold treatments, fixing my sleep patterns, etc.., I found a lot of relief. Wear and tear cannot be fixed by exercise, of course. At our age, it is all about management.
Hi, sorry you're going through that. I can only share from my experience with my ex (a guitarist,) it took us a while to find the correct diagnosis for that same issue, but it was not diagnosed as CTS. His diagnosis was much more complex and related to other symptoms, but I do know from all my research that there are several other possibilities. One is specifically related to either writing or playing an instrument, in that case it was floated that it could be "musician's dystonia." My best suggestion is to keep digging if you feel that the CTS diagnosis isn't right. Hope that helps.
If it was like my ex's hand cramps while playing guitar, he'd have to turn around and try to straighten them out onstage so he could try to keep playing. At first I thought he was wiping sweat off on his jeans, but it was trying to straighten out his fingers.
Be careful with dosing of Mg, it may cause some 'explosive' problems. Better to take Magnesium citrate or malate, these forms are a little less harsh...
My neuroscientist of a wife also suspects it could be dystonia...
IIRC, that's why Scott Devine wears the glove in his videos. He had a bad problem with dystonia. There was a vid on YouTube about his experience.
