Spiritual Action

Carpal tunnel syndrome, or CTS, is a painful condition that causes numbness, weakness and intense throbbing in the fingers, hands and wrists. Many times people are unable to hold even very lightweight objects when they lose their ability to grip objects. As soon as the condition is diagnosed, a wrist brace that will correct the hands posture and relieve some of the pain is often prescribed. The brace will also prevent the condition from getting any worse. Many of the more severe cases require surgery in order to find relief. Many people have been able to forego surgery and effectively relieve the pain of CTS by using carpal tunnel massage techniques.

Though not yet widely prescribed, studies do indicate an improvement in the level of pain experienced by those who both receive regular treatment by a massage therapist and who practice self-massage techniques at home, preferably just before bedtime when the pain of carpal tunnel is often known to intensify. In one particular study, people with carpal tunnel syndrome were split into two test groups. One group received massage therapy and self-administered carpal tunnel massage techniques at home. After just one month of the study, those in the carpal tunnel massage group reported improvements in the strength of their grip, in their levels of pain and showed loser signs of depression, which is often caused by the debilitating pain of carpal tunnel syndrome. Of the group who did not participate in regular massages, no such improvements were noted. More research is needed before the medical community will begin to offer this option to their patients, but this preliminary study, along with other sufferers who have reported similar results, strongly suggests that relief from the pain and impairment of this condition is entirely possible with carpal tunnel massage.

It is really very simple to self administer carpal tunnel massage. The person should apply short strokes with pressure to the forearm, with each stroke lasting 2 -3 seconds. Apply the same strokes to the palms of the hands and lighten the pressure when massaging the wrists. Carpal tunnel massage should be done at least once a day, more often if necessary, for several weeks. After two or three weeks a noticeable difference should be seen. If the therapy is continued for several months it is possible to entirely reverse the condition.

Carpal tunnel can also originate from stress to the neck, back and shoulder areas, so receiving a weekly massage to those areas is also helpful in treating carpal tunnel syndrome. In fact, even if a person has not yet developed carpal tunnel syndrome, but is part of a high risk group, weekly massages are advised to make certain that these areas are not over stressed.

Exercises that require squeezing, resistance and stretching of the arm, wrist, fingers and hands are also helpful. By routinely using a stress ball to help with squeezing and resistance, or using range of motion exercise that slowly rotate wrists and stretch fingers, blood can begin to properly circulate in the damaged region and give relief to swelling and pressure on the median nerve located in the wrist's carpal tunnel.

For sufferers that are already using a brace to correct the hands posture and relieve the pain should continue its use. It is recommended that theses people also use carpal tunnel massage therapy to increase the chances of recovery from this painful condition. It is possible to use carpal tunnel massage to decrease the chances of needing surgery as well as decreasing the chance of further damage to the nerve.