Carpal Tunnel Pain Relief Now

Contrast Heat and Ice Therapy for Hand and Wrist Pain Relief

Muscles in your hand and arm respond very well to heat and ice therapy.  Why?

Applications of heat fill the tissues with blood and increase circulation.  Short applications of ice also increase circulation.  This is all good!

But longer applications of cold by itself reduce the flow of blood to the area so keep application of cold in an area to less than one minute.  (Water Therapy, Leon Chaitow MD)

So what is contrast therapy?

Contrast therapy means taking turns applying heat/hot and cold/ice and it helps in several ways.  It increase circulation in areas of tight muscle, increases oxygen supply to the soft tissues and improves drainage to reduce inflammation (swelling.)  Dr. Chaitow suggests finishing with cold in most instances.

Heat increases blood flow to tight muscles and cold reduces inflammation.  But sometimes you don't have to decide.  Sometimes you can use both!

Here's how to use contrast therapy:

You can alternate hot packs and cold packs.  You might use

Types of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Discussed by Chiropractor

This video by Ohio chiropractor Dr. Jack Adrian does a good job of explaining why the cause of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is not usually only in the wrist. 

As I have explained here many times, the cause of your symptoms can also be in your lower arm, your neck, or your chest or back muscles.  You may have one or more things causing symptoms.  It could even be a vitamin deficiency.

There are many schools of chiropractic and as in any other field, many doctors treat their patients depending on their own advanced training, personality and unique way of seeing and treating bodies.

Some doctors of chiropractic adjust fingers, wrists and other joints but

Does Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Cause Hand AND Foot Pain?

Do you have numbness or pain in your hands and also in your feet?  Could that all be Carpal Tunnel Syndrome?

It could be two totally different thing going on or it could all be part of one body-wide condition.  That's why it would be a good idea to see your doctor so he or she can rule out serious whole-body medical conditions, like diabetes.

Although some people are more prone to get diabetes than others, it is largely a disorder caused by lifestyle and what we eat.  Some doctors will have you exercise and change your diet to control it.  Some doctors don't have faith in their patients, so they will offer medications to you.

What Muscles Can Cause Hand and Foot Pain?

If the muscles in your butt--your gluteal muscles--are tight, they can cause

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome and Your Endocrine System

Can Carpal Tunnel Syndrome be caused by the glands in your body?  Those glands rule everything!  They are called your endocrine system.

I did a very interesting interview with an woman who is an expert in the endocrine system. She had to become an expert in order to get rid of her own problems.

If you don't know what your endocrine system is or does yet, be sure to listen. It's about an hour long and chock full of very important information.

You can find the teleseminar interview (online seminar) here:

BOOST YOUR IMMUNE SYSTEM AND LESSEN YOUR PAIN

Your immune system is part of your endocrine system.

People who suffer from Carpal Tunnel Syndrome can benefit from this information.  That's why I am sharing it with you.

When your endocrine system is happy, your whole body will be happier and that includes your carpal tunnel.

Wrist Pain That Circles Your Wrist Like A Bracelet

If your pain circles your wrists like a bracelet or wristwatch, the most likely muscle is between your shoulder blade and your ribs on your back.  Imagine that your ribs and shoulder blade are the "bread" of a sandwich and the muscle is the "filling."  That muscle (the filling) can have trigger points which cause wrist pain.

Trigger points are very irritable places in a muscle that cause pain elsewhere.  In this case, trigger points in the muscle between your shoulder blade and ribs cause pain that circles your wrist.  This can happen to one or both wrists at the same time.

If you "walk like a lion" on all fours and

Does Liniment Help Carpal Tunnel Syndrome?

A curious reader asked me whether it was helpful to use liniment for carpal tunnel syndrome.  That's a very good question. 

Liniments act by distracting your brain from the pain.  The distraction might only last as long as the sensation of the ointment or liniment but sometimes the effect last longer.  This is because your body "forgets" the pain while it is distracted.

Some areas, for instance tight upper shoulders, will respond better and relax more than your carpal tunnel area itself but liniment won't hurt to try.  If you can be distracted for even a little while, that's a good thing.

And there is another benefit to applying liniment--the rubbing itself! 

Most liniments and therapeutic oils need

Pain in Base of Thumb - Causes and Treatment

Do you have pain at the base of your thumb?  If you ask your doctor about it, he or she will probably diagnosis it as "arthritis" or maybe even carpal tunnel syndrome.

Here's something interesting.  If any of us have an x-ray, it would most likely show arthritis (changes in the bones, usually from muscles pulling on them.)  But, we don't all have pain!  "Arthritis" is a diagnosis doctors use when they don't know why else you might have pain.

But, muscles and trigger points will cause pain in the