Carpal Tunnel Pain Relief Now

How Can You Tell If The Muscles In Your Neck Are Causing Your Carpal Tunnel Symptoms?

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome can be caused by the muscles in your neck.  Something is causing your symptoms and if they aren't responding to conventional therapies, these muscles may be the culprit. 

Bodies are very logical and we get pain for reasons.  We just have to figure out what the reason or cause is and get rid of it.  Then your symptoms will go away.

Here are two things:

1.  Go to http://www.carpaltunnelpainreliefnow.com/videos/

Look for the video called Scalene Muscle Video for Carpal Tunnel Pain Relief.
You will see the areas to be massaged as well as a technique.

2.  Here is the test to determine whether your scalene muscles are causing your carpal tunnel symptoms:

On your affected side,

Carpal Tunnel Questions and Answers

People with Carpal Tunnel Syndrome sometimes write with questions.  Here's one email with my response:

(Note:  Even though the author feels his symptoms came from lots of typing, a study by the National Institutes of Health says that's not a cause.  However, I don't know who the test subjects were or what their quality of health or lifestyle was.  People with perfect posture and healthy eating habits are less likely to get carpal tunnel syndrome.  Perhaps the participants were coached in using ergonomic posture.)

Here's the email:

Hi. I have been typing since junior high school. I retired from the U.S. Army after serving 20 years as an administrative specialist. Yes, typing and on the computer for YEARS! I was told by different doctors that I have carpal tunnel syndrome and tendinitis of both wrists. I am also a retired body builder so I did a lot of heavy training. But over the last few years I have been experiencing weakness now. I almost dropped my coffee mug this morning. The pain was so bad and I just could not hold the mug. I have had this pain before and it is to the point it hurts to just shower, comb my hair, put on lotion, get dress, whenever I have to move my wrist/hand/fingers. But it is only my left hand/wrist. I'm right handed though. I am retired but am working again now as, you got it, administrative technician :) I now think I want to change what I do and try something that does not involve so much writing and typing. Any help or assistance is very welcomed :) Thank you and be blessed.

Here's my reply:

Hello.  Two things will make a big difference for you:

Self-Help for Wrist and Arm Injury or Pain

Your body is very smart and is very capable of healing.  Sometimes you just need to understand WHY you have carpal tunnel symptoms and WHAT to do to get rid of them.

Last summer I tripped and when I caught myself on my hand, I jammed my wrist, elbow and shoulder badly.  I knew nothing broke, but there was a lot of trauma.  I was pretty sure I dislocated my elbow.

I was careful to keep my muscles open (long) so they wouldn't shorten and seize up.  They wanted to tighten up and I had to deliberately keep my arm open.  I took an anti-inflammatory two or three times (Aleve made a big difference) and I iced all of the areas I thought were involved many times to reduce the swelling.

After everything settled down a bit, during

Does Your Carpal Tunnel Pain Come From Your Neck? CTS Can Be Caused By Neck Muscles

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome often has a "hidden" cause.  There are muscles in your neck that are called the scalenes.  There is a set on each side of your neck--left and right.  These muscles are commonly overlooked as a cause of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.

In fact, when conventional or alternative treatments for CTS don't relieve your symptoms, the scalenes are usually the cause!

You can listen to a featured episode at Carpal Tunnel Radio called "Carpal Tunnel Syndrome--Is It All In Your Head?  Or Your Neck?"  It is about these muscles and, if your doctor thinks it's all in your head...it's not!

And, there's an article here at Carpal Tunnel Pain Relief about "The Muscle In Your Neck That Causes "Knots" and Carpal Tunnel Syndrome."

Carpal Tunnel Pain & Massage Therapy: Does Massage Help Carpal Tunnel Syndrome?

 Yes!  Massage definitely helps get rid of carpal tunnel symptoms.  There is NO doubt in my mind!

Massage has so many benefits it's almost a miracle drug--in fact, it is a miracle drug!

Do I sound biased?  Well, the truth is...I AM!

And what's with all the exclamation points?

It's because when I talk about massage therapy I get excited!  I LOVE it!  Almost 20 years in the bodywork field has given me a lot of first-hand reasons to love massage.

Massage is old medicine and it's powerful medicine.  It has no side effects (although some people may have some tenderness following the first session or two).  It's used all over the world--especially in "less sophisticated and high-med-tech" countries.  Those countries use natural remedies instead of drugs and surgery.  Why?  Costs much less, works well, and anyone can give massage.

Massage is natural medicine.

Therapeutic massage relieves pain and soft tissue dysfunction.  One big-name researcher said if we all had a massage a week, we would have 90% less illness.  90%! That's HUGE.

Why isn't the medical community

Carpal Tunnel Pain? What You Should Know About Carpal Tunnel Surgical Release

What should you know about Carpal Tunnel Syndrome and surgical release?  Everything!

You don't know how many times I've asked a client why they had or were going to have a surgical procedure or why they were taking a certain medicine and they said:  "I don't know.  The doctor told me to have it or do it or take it."

Your doctor is a well-educated person and knows a whole lot more than I do about a whole lot of things, but no one can know everything.  Sometimes doctors, just like the rest of us, make a decision based on limited information.  That's why you have to educate yourself about your own health and body!

And, please remember, I'm not a doctor.  I'm The Pain Relief Coach.  Because I have learned so much over the years about how bodies are--what makes them happy or unhappy--my job now is to share that with you.  I share that information here with you at Carpal Tunnel Pain Relief. 

Your job is to do what you have to do to get better.

When you understand

Does Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Cause Pain In Your Thumb?

Does Carpal Tunnel Syndrome cause pain in your thumb?  Well, not actually.  Here's some background:

• Something caused the pain in your wrist, hand and arm. 
• Carpal Tunnel Syndrome means you have a bunch of symptoms, like pain, numbness or tingling. 
• A syndrome is a bunch of symptoms.

So, you might have pain in your thumb from something other than Carpal Tunnel Syndrome OR your thumb pain might be part of the syndrome. 

There are ways to figure out exactly what is causing pain in your thumb.  First, you need to be able to say, "The pain is on the palm side of my thumb," or, "the pain is on the outside of my thumb." 

Is it AT your wrist or is it in the WEB of your thumb?  Is the pain on the TIP of your thumb?

Your answers will give

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Can Be Caused By Asthma

Did you ever guess asthma could cause your carpal tunnel symptoms?  Sure it can.  How?

You have a muscle called the diaphragm which basically divides your body into two pieces.  It is below your lungs and is used for breathing.  Sometimes, for one reason or another, we stop using the diaphragm as much as we are designed to.  When this happens, we start relying too much on the other muscles that help us breath:  the scalenes. 

The scalene muscles are on either side of your neck, left and right.  They are tucked behind a much more visible muscle which runs from the notch of your collar bone to your skull behind your ears.  The scalenes are used to assist with inhaling.

If you have difficulty breathing, the scalene muscles work harder than normal.  This can happen from stress or emotional tension as well as asthma, a bad cough, or any other situation which makes your breathing labored.  When this happens, the muscles in your neck can develop trigger points.

Trigger points cause--or trigger--pain somewhere else.  For instance, trigger points in your scalene muscles will cause pain and symptoms in the area of your carpal tunnel. 

If conventional medical treatment or massage doesn't help your carpal tunnel symptoms, then most likely you have trigger points in these neck muscles.  The good news is these muscles can be "treated" just like all muscles.  They don't require surgery.  The trigger points can be relieved with finger pressure or massage.

If you check out the "categories" here at Carpal Tunnel Pain Relief, you will find the "video" category.  If you scroll through those titles, you will find a video which demonstrates release of the scalenes. 

Also, since the muscles around your neck, chest and back get tight from working so hard when you have trouble breathing, massage is a great natural remedy to help them relax.

If you can get your asthma or breathing difficulty under control and release the scalenes (or have a skilled massage therapist do it for you) you can have carpal tunnel pain relief.

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Is A Whole Body Issue

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is a whole body issue?  What does that mean?  Well, if you have been diagnosed with CTS, or if you suspect that's what you have, I'll bet you have pain elsewhere in your body, too.

If you have CTS, chances are that more things will hurt besides your wrist.  There are many causes for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome and all of them--except perhaps a crushing injury to your wrist--involve your whole body.

Most cases of hand, wrist and arm pain are caused by your muscles and soft tissues.  They are unhappy about something (vitamin deficiency? overstretched?) and so they cause symptoms.  The muscles that cause symptoms in your carpal tunnel area are the same ones that can cause pain in your neck, arms, jaw, head and back.

Well, the good news is

What Are The Symptoms And Causes Of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome?

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome--Is that what you suspect?  What are the symptoms of CTS and what caused it in the first place?

There are many areas of the arm, hand and wrist that may "hurt" or have symptoms of numbness, tingling, burning or pain.  Exactly where it hurts depends on the cause of your symptoms.  And the type of hurt may vary from person to person.

You may experience aching, tingling, burning or a feeling of numbness in your hand, fingers, wrist or arm.  This is caused by something going on in your body.  That "something" could be a vitamin deficiency, an immune system disorder, diabetes or pregnancy, a crushing injury or...our good friends:  muscles!  We'll talk more about them in a minute.

You might have cramps in your hands or wake during the night with numb, tingling sensations.  You may be unable to unscrew the lid of a jar because you have "no strength" or because it hurts to try.  You might actually drop items.

Muscles are the most commonly overlooked cause of pain in the hand, wrist and arm--the "carpal tunnel" area.  Muscles and