Carpal Tunnel Pain Relief Now

Pain & Numbness On The Outside Of Your Hand

Pain on the outside, or baby finger side, of the hand can have different causes.  Sometimes it's a side effect of medication.  Here is a letter I received from a reader who has numbness in her baby fingers.

"This all started last Monday and has occurred every day since then.  My arms under my shoulders have that same "nerve-y" pain near my armpit.  My shoulder blades are sore, my chest hurts dead center, I am going to the bathroom a lot - and I take medicine (Vesicare) to alleviate it. My neck is sore in the back, and today my right leg hurt right by the knee for no reason.  I have had 2 recent bouts of horrendous leg cramping. After a walk, my hands feel "heavy", and my fingers swell and get red. I was starting to think about fibromyalgia..."

Good!  You gave me more information.  One of the things I wonder is whether you are taking any medications that might be causing some of your symptoms. 

Here is part of my response:

"...I see Vesicare is for bladder issues and can cause tightness in the chest and back pain and pain below the ribs and pain while urinating and inability to empty the bladder.

All medications have a paragraph of symptoms and side effects they cause.  Get the side effects list from your pharmacist or online and review the list for your symptoms, then talk to your doctor if any match up. 

A medicine is considered effective if it works as desired in just over half of the people it is prescribed for. 

If a medicine is causing you to be depleted of minerals or vitamins, that might cause the cramping.  Your doctor should be able to determine whether this might be the case.  Of course, a really good high potency multi-vitamin & mineral supplement from a health food store will not hurt and could make a world of difference to you (after a few months.)

When you take a walk, if you

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome and Fibromyalgia

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (pain, numbness and tingling around your carpal tunnel) and Fibromyalgia Syndrome (generalized all-over pain usually including other symptoms) have something in common. 

They are both pain syndromes.

A "syndrome" is a collection of "symptoms." 

Symptoms are signals that your body is complaining about something.  That "something" could be something you do...or don't do, eat...or don't eat.  It could be caused by a vitamin deficiency, not enough restful sleep, a postural distortion which could be curvature of your spine or poor posture.  Or, there could be other causes.

So, does Carpal Tunnel Syndrome cause fibromyalgia?

Or, can having fibromyalgia cause carpal tunnel symptoms?

There could be a connection.  Here's what I suspect.

People who have fibromyalgia tend to have forward-head posture.  I have never seen anyone with fibromyalgia who had good posture.  This puts a lot of strain on the muscle attachments that create the "tender points" that doctors press on to determine a "fibro" diagnosis (after they rule out more serious issues, like lupus and MS.) 

A collapsed, or forward, posture contributes to (and may be a large part of the cause of) fibromyalgia.

Sometimes, it may be possible that the forward-head posture came after other symptoms of fibromyalgia had already started, in response to feeling unwell.

Forward-head posture also strains the muscles and nerves around your neck and shoulders that contribute to Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.

• Many people who have fibromyalgia symptoms also have carpal tunnel symptoms.
• There are also carpal tunnel syndrome sufferers who have fibromyalgia.

If there is a connection, it seems most likely to me that it would be the forward-head posture.

Getting a straight, strong backside will help eliminate carpal tunnel and fibromyalgia symptoms.

And, if fibromyalgia symptoms are bothering you, a great resource can be found at Fibromyalgia Survival Guide.  Jane Thompson has a free newsletter and a really useful, easy to understand program explaining the symptoms and natural ways you can get rid of them.

"Because You Deserve to Feel Better!"