| Are you thinking about going to see a doctor | | | | There is an entire dynamic to Carpal Tunnel. It |
| about the pain and numbness in your hand and | | | | doesn't just happen in one spot. The entire arm is |
| wrist? Are you worried that you have an injury | | | | at play. Surgery fails so often not because the |
| and that it's getting worse? If you suspect that | | | | surgery went wrong (and it's bad news if it does |
| you have Carpal Tunnel Syndrome there are 3 | | | | go wrong) but because the problem wasn't just |
| important questions that you should ask your | | | | at the wrist, if it was even there at all. |
| doctor. | | | | In my experience, most numbness in the wrist |
| There are a lot of questions that you can and | | | | comes from up higher at the front or the |
| should ask, but here are three questions that will | | | | shoulder and neck. How is your doctor going to |
| make the most difference. | | | | effectively help that? |
| Question #1. What is going on in my hand and | | | | Question #3. Is what you just prescribed for me |
| wrist that is giving me these symptoms of pain | | | | going to make the pain go away -and- help me |
| and numbness? | | | | heal back to good as new? |
| Most doctors will blame the problem on repetitive | | | | The usual methods used to treat wrist problems, |
| motion activities like working on a mouse and | | | | like anti-inflammatory drugs like Ibuprofen, rest, |
| keyboard, or knitting, or something of the sort. | | | | muscle relaxants, splints and braces, proper |
| But that doesn't actually answer the question. You | | | | ergonomics, and corticosteroid shots just don't |
| want to know what is going on under the skin, | | | | get you back to 100%. You're lucky if they work |
| what is the mechanism that is causing this to stay | | | | at all for more than a couple weeks. |
| chronic and get worse. | | | | They may reduce symptoms to some degree. |
| Repetitive motion causes injury and swelling is | | | | Temporarily. But they don't fix the problem or get |
| only half accurate. Even if it were totally true, it | | | | you back to as good as new. |
| doesn't explain why it doesn't heal and go away. | | | | And yet, they are the go to treatments to |
| Stopping the activity won't cure you, even if it | | | | combat Carpal Tunnel syndrome. Until they fail to |
| helps the pain to go away. | | | | help, and then surgery is next. Of course they are |
| Question #2. Are you sure that it is a problem | | | | going to fail. They don't target all the variables |
| with my Carpal Tunnel? Where else could the pain | | | | that go into wrist pain and numbness, and they |
| be coming from? | | | | don't do enough when they do successfully target |
| Carpal Tunnel Release Surgery takes place on the | | | | a variable. |
| ligament that covers the bony structure of the | | | | If you find yourself using splints, braces, |
| carpal tunnel. This must mean that this is the only | | | | anti-infinflammatories or muscle relaxants for |
| place where there is a problem. Unfortunately, it | | | | more than a couple weeks, you know you are |
| does not mean this. | | | | heading down the wrong treatment path. |