Carpal Tunnel Treatment in Denver, Colorado

When You Suffer with Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

Pain in the wrist and hand can be a difficult thing to diagnose properly. The first problem is deciding what type of doctor to see. A chiropractor, internist, orthopedist, rheumatologist, or neurologist, will all agree to schedule you for an appointment, but who is best?

At your visit it's important to have a thorough examination and to ask a lot of questions. Be skeptical if the doctor only examines the wrist and hand, and leaves out the elbow, shoulder, and neck. The reason is because problems of the neck and other joints like elbow and shoulder can refer pain into the wrist and hand.

Not all wrist pains are the result of constriction at the carpal tunnel. Pain into the hand can come from compression of nerves in the neck. Your carpal tunnel pain needs to be separated from a problem in the neck, such as a radiculopathy or thoracic outlet syndrome. Sometimes it's a combination of both your wrist and another area, called a "double crush" syndrome.

Any misalignment from your neck, shoulder, elbow or wrist can create carpal tunnel symptoms. This misalignment is called a subluxation, and only chiropractors detect and correct these problems.

Some of the questions your doctor should ask are how long the problem has lasted, and if there has been any trauma. Trauma to the neck is especially important, and could be a sign that your wrist problem is associated with that neck injury, no matter how long ago it was.

Some patients simply need to have their computer monitor adjusted, or are given stretching exercises to do between long periods at the computer keyboard. The stretching may be for the wrist, but should also address the entire arm and neck to be comprehensive.

How we sit and whether there is forward head posture are also important considerations. The forward head posture can stretch your spinal cord and nerve roots, making the nerves more susceptible to pressure when they eventually pass through the carpal tunnel.

In others, the problem of joint alignment needs to be properly addressed. Just like the segments of your spine, all bones need to have proper alignment, problems with this is called a subluxation. Through specific chiropractic adjustments, the motion of the joints and their alignment can be restored. The misalignments may occur at the wrist, elbow, shoulder, or even the neck.

Dr. Pennington will be thorough in evaluating all those potential areas.

Click the "Make an Appointment Now / Lattiss" button above to make your appointment and become pain free.