Carpal Tunnel

What is Carpal Tunnel?

The carpal tunnel is a narrow passageway surrounded by bones and ligaments on the palm side of your hand. When the median nerve is compressed, the symptoms can include numbness, tingling, and weakness in the hand and arm.

If left untreated, carpal tunnel syndrome can lead to weakness and lack of coordination in your fingers and thumb. Treatment can relieve pressure on the nerve and, for most people, eliminate their symptoms. The carpal tunnel is a small passageway on the palm side of your wrist

Massage for Carpal Tunnel

Massage therapy is an effective way to help relieve CTS-related symptoms and can be used as a preventative measure. Massage therapy can help treat CTS by reducing inflammation, pain, and numbness in the carpal tunnel. This happens by lengthening the muscles and fascia in the neck, shoulders, arms, wrists, and hand.

Is there a pressure point for carpal tunnel?

Acupressure point = PC-6

This point is two of your thumb widths above your wrist crease in the middle of your inner arm. Press this down firmly for a few minutes and you should know soon if it gives you any relief or not. If it does, then you can press that for three minutes three times daily.

How do I get instant relief from carpal tunnel?

To help ease the symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome, you may want to put ice on your wrist or soak it in an ice bath. Try it for 10 to 15 minutes, once or twice an hour. You can also gently shake your wrist or hang it over the side of your bed for pain that wakes you up at night.

Does squeezing a ball help arthritis?

Try using one of those small, squishy “stress balls.” A study published by the nonprofit group Arthritis Institute of America found that squeezing a stress ball improved grip strength and relieving pain in adults with hand osteoarthritis (the most common type of arthritis).

Is yoga bad for carpal tunnel?

So, can yoga give you carpal tunnel symptoms? The short answer is yes — but that’s not the end of the story. You can actively avoid the problem by working on your grounding technique. You can even modify your practice so carpal tunnel symptoms do not mean the end of āsana for you.

Is yoga bad for carpal tunnel?

So, can yoga give you carpal tunnel symptoms? The short answer is yes — but that’s not the end of the story. You can actively avoid the problem by working on your grounding technique. You can even modify your practice so carpal tunnel symptoms do not mean the end of āsana for you

More on Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

Simply put, carpal tunnel syndrome is the inflammation or entrapment of nerves within the carpal tunnel of the anterior wrist, which can cause pain and numbness symptoms to include numbness and tingling in the hand, difficulty grasping or carrying objects, and, sometimes, hand pain. Some, report the pain is worse in the evening, and sleep can be interrupted.

The causes of carpal tunnel syndrome are often associated with repetitive motion, such as working at a computer all day, for example, though other factors can come into play, as well. “Carpal tunnel is most often considered a repetitive strain or overuse injury, but genetics and disease processes can contribute to the symptoms, too. “Excessive flexion and extension of the wrist seem to be the most popular theory as to cause of carpal tunnel syndrome. However, heredity, those with smaller carpal tunnels, diabetes, and rheumatoid arthritis, to name a few, can all play a part.”

What You Need to Know

Necessary knowledge. Everyone we talked to agreed that a better-than-average understanding of anatomy and physiology was necessary when working with clients with carpal tunnel syndrome.

One other critical skill mentioned by the massage therapists we spoke with: know your own limitations. Whether you need to consult with other massage therapy colleagues or refer the client to another health care professional, understanding what you can and cannot do for the client is imperative, especially if there are additional underlying health conditions.

Assessment. Some clients will come with a diagnosis from their health care provider—and some won’t—making your initial assessment critical. “The initial assessment includes a detailed health history form and an interview, their medications, general health issues and specific information about the carpal tunnel syndrome, such as the location of the pain and/or numbness, the initial onset and duration of symptoms, activities that exacerbate the symptoms and prior treatment.

Along with medical history, evaluative tests like Phalen’s or Tinel’s for the wrist can be helpful in developing a comprehensive treatment plan, assess the pronator teres, the shoulder, and cervical region for compression along the median nerve, especially if they have a history of neck or shoulder injuries or perform repetitive movements on a daily basis.

Clients are going to likely need a series of massages to get real relief, reassessing how massage therapy sessions are working is also going to be important. I assess before and after treatment and ask questions related to the client’s activities of daily living, For example, were they able to sleep at night with less pain or have they been able to lift and drink a glass of water without feeling like they were going to drop the glass.

Questions about the client’s condition, as well as if they are seeing any relief from their symptoms or have experienced any changes in lifestyle or stress levels, for example.

Communicate clearly. The same can be said of any consumer demographic you’re working with, but you need to be able to tell your clients what they can expect.

From here, make sure you can properly explain the treatment plan to the client in a way that is easily understandable. Be very clear about the benefits massage therapy will provide.

How Massage Can Help

Techniques used. There are a variety of ways you can work with clients who have carpal tunnel syndrome. Though much of the focus may be on the wrist area, as with other problems, more than one structure may be involved.

The arm is usually in a torsion pattern that is present in the rest of the body, Typically carpal tunnel syndrome clients will present with an internal rotation of shoulder and arm. Because the nerve that supplies the sensation in the carpal tunnel originates in the neck and shoulder area, it is important to release possible ‘kinks’ along the entire nerve pathway.”

Using detailed deep tissue work that releases tension, adhesions, and trigger points in the soft tissue of the shoulder, full arm, and hand, work to bring the shoulder and arm out of the internal rotation. General uses orthopedic massage techniques like myofascial release through stripping, compression, and active engagement.

Typical session. releasing the internal rotation of the shoulder, specifically the pectoral muscles and subscapularis. Then, starting at the upper arm, down to the elbow, forearm, and hand, I feel for adhesions and fibrous tissue, especially along the nerve pathways, releasing them systematically.

General typically works on clients for an hour, using heat and compression to reduce hypertonicity in the flexor muscles.

More Info:

https://www.wikihow.com/Release-Carpal-Tunnel-Syndrome-With-Massage-Therapy

https://www.massagetherapyreference.com/carpal-tunnel-massage/

Deep Tissue Massage can be used on the Carpal Tunnel and what to expect?

Deep tissue massage is a massage that is designed to get into the connective tissue of the body, rather than just the surface muscles. As a massage therapist when I perform deep tissue I use a variety of techniques to deeply penetrate the muscles and fascia, loosening them and releasing tension. Most clients have a more intense experience with a deep tissue massage, but also feel that it is more beneficial because it addresses deep-seated muscle pains. Deep tissue is beneficial when undertaken on a regular basis so that I can work together with the client to correct long term problems, relax the body, and prevent injury.

To get a truly good deep tissue massage you need to find someone who specializes in deep tissue, like Nicola.  Most spas have several massage therapists who can offer a basic deep tissue massage integrating a number of techniques and styles customized for your body for maximum impact. Experiment by trying several deep tissue massage therapists to find the one that is the right fit for you and your body.

One of the defining differences between deep tissue and regular massage is the use of tools. A standard massage usually only involves the hands and lower arms of the therapist. During a deep tissue, however,  I use elbows and fingers for deep, penetrating work in the muscle. A deep tissue massage also tends to be very slow, and I will use long, flowing strokes to ease in and out of the muscle. Going in too quickly can cause the muscle to tense up, which is not the desired reaction. I also maintain firm pressure at trouble spots for several minutes to achieve muscle release before moving on to the next area of the body.

Deep tissue massage is designed to relieve severe tension in the muscle and the connective tissue or fascia. This type of massage focuses on the muscles located below the surface of the top muscles. Deep tissue massage is often recommended for individuals who experience consistent pain, are involved in heavy physical activity, such as athletes, and patients who have sustained physical injury. It is also not uncommon for receivers of Deep Tissue Massage to have their pain replaced with a new muscle ache for a day or two. Deep tissue work varies greatly. What one calls deep tissue another will call light. When receiving deep tissue work it is important to communicate what you are feeling.

When you go to get a deep tissue massage, you should talk with the therapist about any issues you might have and like to see addressed during your massage. I am happy to concentrate on a single body part for an entire massage to achieve lasting results and in fact, half of my clients want just that! It is also important to communicate with me about pain; The massage may be intense, but if a client starts to feel pain, he or she should communicate that immediately. I work on a scale of 1 – 10, where 7 is on your comfortability edge for that day and 10 is very uncomfortable pain. A lot of my clients take the deep tissue pain or even like the pain in order to get the quickest results for their body type.  At the end of the session, lots of water should be consumed to help the body express the toxins released during the massage. You will probably be sore for a few days after the intense deep tissue treatment but that’s normal. Remember that ice is your friend.

*Disclaimer: This information is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice. You should not use this information to diagnose or treat a health problem or disease without consulting with a qualified healthcare provider.
Please consult your healthcare provider with any questions or concerns you may have regarding your condition.
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