Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Pain Relief

Taking anti-inflammatory medications like naproxen or ibuprofen will help decrease the inflammation that occurs, but if you don't want to mask the pain with these medications contrast bath is a very good alternative. If you decrease the pain with the anti-inflammatory medications but continue to participate in an activity, which causes the inflammation, you are not allowing your body to heal naturally.

Contrast Bath or Hydrotherapy also takes advantage of water's unique ability to store and transmit both cold and heat. Cold-based hydrotherapies, such as ice
Packs and cold compresses have what is known as a "depressant" effect on your body. Cold decreases normal activity, thus, constricting blood vessels by numbing nerves, which pushes lymph fluids away from the treated area.

On the other hand, heat-based hydrotherapies, such as whirlpools and hot compresses, have the opposite effect. As the body attempts to throw off the excess heat and keep body temperature from rising, dilation of blood vessels occurs, providing increased circulation to the area being treated, thus, bringing blood nutrients and oxygen needed to nourish body-part being treated.

These theories on hydrotherapy have not been proven to work nor not to work, with carpal tunnel syndrome symptoms. But it is will practiced in Physical Therapy clinics and I personally have had great success with Hydro-Therapy. I personally have used contrast bath for over 10 years treating my hands and whole body as part of my health regime for past 11 plus years as a massage therapist. Preventing inflammation or reducing inflammation is a medical industry bankroll. It is the number one prescribed medication. With proper rest, diet and exercise we can stop inflammation from forming.

Equipment Needed:

1. Two deep buckets or other receptacles deep enough to completely covering your wrist and preferably up to your elbow you would like to use in the contrast bath. Buckets can be replaced with a kitchen sink that has two compartments. One for HOT and one for COLD (ice can be used here).

2. Thermometer - a cooking thermometer will suffice (optional)

3. Timer - watch or clock

Procedure:

~ One bucket should be 2/3 filled with water at a temperature of between 95-105°F, and the other 2/3 filled with water at a temperature of between 55-65°F. Or as hot and cold as you can tolerate. The greater the contrast the better (but not necessary for this to be effective)

~ Place the hands/wrist to be treated in the hot water, leave it there for 1 minute, then place the part in the cold water and leave it there for one minute. Alternate from the hot to the cold water for a period of 10 minutes, beginning and ending with the cold water.

~ The ratio can be 2:1, hot to cold if you want to speed up the process. Place the part that needs to be treated in Cold water for 30 seconds than alternate to Hot for 1 minute. Go back to Cold for 1 minute than alternate to Hot for 2 minute. Increase by 30 seconds when you go back to Hot every time. Do this for about 4 times.

Here is a Method of Making your Own Ice Packs. This is an alternative to contrast bath when you want to reduce inflammation/swelling or pain relief from carpal tunnel symptoms.

A quick and easy recipe to make a reusable slushy ice pack is to combine 4 parts rubbing alcohol to 1 part water and ice cubes in a plastic seal up baggie (freezer bag) Place this in the freezer for a few hours and when it is ready you will have an inexpensive ice pack.

The reason this works is that the specific temperature of the rubbing alcohol is low enough that it will not freeze in a normal freezer allowing the contents of the bag to form slush rather than a solid.

I also found that if you take dishwashing liquid and freeze that, it will become slushy as well. Make sure to double bag it to make sure it doesn't leak.

Robert C. Vignoli has been a massage therapist for over 10 years and is currently co-authoring an ebook on carpal tunnel syndrome pain relief. He currently co-owns Roman Paradigm Massage, but now he is helping to improve the massage industry by building a "hands off" massage business model. MassageSpace.net is the new MySpace for Massage Therapist, learn more @ www.think-diagonal.com

We are what we eat, you can encourage and maintain healthy hands again just by watching what you eat. Reduce the pain and swelling that you suffer from carpal tunnel syndrome symptoms, by dieting?

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Symptoms are often made worst by what we eat and drink daily. Coffee, alcohol, high sugar intake and processed foods are just some of the major contributors that keep your hands from ever feeling better. Our hectic lifestyles daily, weekly and monthly create a situation for us internally that is just not healthy, our bodies will absorbed only as much as it can. And when it can't take anymore you will feel tired, fatigued and even depressed which only then we eat and drink more C. R. A. P. (caffeine, refined sugar, alcohol and processed foods) to our bodies going, not good.

Just by eating a well balanced diet, that includes consuming eight ounces of water every two hours to help flush out the system and eating healthy fresh fruits and vegetables. Eating more whole grains and lean proteins such as soy, bean and lentils is a great start as well as getting such drinks as green tea to help reduce swelling. Including vitamin B6 into your diet, especially if you already take vitamin C, which depletes the body of vitamin B6 will offer many benefits. A deficiency of vitamin B6 can increase the susceptibility of experiencing pain and numbness, which is associated with carpal tunnel syndrome. Vitamin B6 encourages the maintenance of healthy tissue for the nerves while relieving inflammation, controlling pain sensations and improving the blood circulation.

What is Carpal Tunnel?

A cluster of eight bones forms the base of the palm in a U shape. The tunnel roof or the arching ligament over these bones houses the median nerve. This particular nerve controls the sensations of the fingers and thumb along the palm, while connecting to the spinal cord. When this tunnel becomes thin, the pressure cuts off the blood flow to the nerve. This then causes pain, weakness and a tingling sensation, it happens most often while asleep, but can happen at any time.

As the condition worsens, it becomes difficult to grasp or make a fist, while it begins to limit the motion of everyday life. Eventually many who suffer from carpal tunnel may lose the ability to determine cold from hot. These symptoms can happen in one or both wrists and may be the cause of pain that radiates from the shoulder to the forearm. Carpal tunnel seems to affect more women than men, although many individuals suffer from some form of carpal tunnel syndrome.

Some of the causes of carpal tunnel may include:

~ Injuries to the wrist hand and fingers

~ Repetitive and continuous hand and finger motions

~ Hormonal imbalances during pregnancy or while taking birth control

~ Inflammation from arthritis and other diseases

~ Health issues such as obesity or a genetic issue

Have you noticed how many times we mentioned your work station or ergonomics? Here are some other foods that you may want to avoid when you are suffering from carpal tunnel syndrome may include:

* Saturated fats

* Salt, since it encourages swelling and dehydrates the system

We hope that you got some good information here, before you run off to have that surgery done. Don't get us wrong there are some instances where surgery may be what you need, but if at all you are having second thoughts try these things first. Here are some more things you can do to relief the pain of carpal tunnel may include:

~ Take a breaks often during the day
~ Reduce swelling by use of cold compresses
~ Stop smoking, since smoking does affect the blood circulation
~ Reduction of repetitive or excessive movements
~ Stay in a warm dry environment
~ Stretching and exercising

Take care of your hands you need them for just about everything we do in our daily lives.

Robert C. Vignoli has been a massage therapist for over 10 years and is currently co-authoring an ebook on carpal tunnel syndrome pain relief. He currently co-owns Roman Paradigm Massage, but now he is helping to improve the massage industry by building a "hands off" massage business model. MassageSpace.net is the new MySpace for Massage Therapist, learn more @ www.think-diagonal.com