Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Treatments

The importance of the hot / cold treatment is very high, though when surveyed, most CTS sufferers never take advantage of this easy treatment step.

When treating Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, rest the area as much as possible, apply ice for 10-20 minutes at a time for at least 3 times a day. (If you have a new injury treat area for the first day to 3 days.)

If you have a cold pack for the wrist, you will quickly find that frequent cold treatments for the wrist are much less troublesome, and you can do this while getting on with your day. Cold compression wraps work because they interrupt and slow nerve and cell function in the damaged area. Once blood vessels are damaged they can no longer carry oxygenated blood to the damaged tissue and therefore cells begin to break-down. The deep cold provided by cold compression wraps slow cell function thereby reducing cellular break-down. Furthermore, because the cold wraps serve to numb the nerves the wraps also reduce pain!

Ultrasound Therapy The long term use of therapeutic ultrasound is common with this injury, as the application of ultrasound will:

• Counteract atrophy in muscles and tendons.
• Increase the elasticity of all tendons that pass through the carpal tunnel.
• Soften inelastic scar tissue from injured tendons / muscle fiber to the point where it is eventually re-absorbed by the body.
• Decrease inflammation of tendons, and the flexor retinaculum (a fibrous sheath passing through the carpal tunnel). All tendons in the carpal tunnel are sheathed, and once tendons become inflamed, the sheath swells and can also become inflamed, and at the worst, infected. If you suspect you have any type of infection in the area, please consult a physician immediately as this can be very damaging if left untreated. (Never use ultrasound over anything suspected of being infected.)

A Final Word About Therapeutic Ultrasound - it is important to know that therapeutic ultrasound will alleviate CTS symptoms, but to truly treat CTS properly and prevent reoccurrence, an extended treatment term is required - 2 months is not unusual. Treatment length will vary depending on the severity, and there are some cases of CTS that are just too chronic, in which case there are very few treatment options other than invasive surgery. If this is the case for your CTS condition, please make sure you are fully informed about the risks and rewards of CTS corrective surgery.

Heat therapy can be done with a Radiant Energy Kit which is one of the most helpful tools for treating CTS. Through the absorption of radiant energy, tissues are safely and gently heated - increasing blood flow within the treated area. Your body's natural response to this increased temperature is to try to maintain a condition of homeostasis - a balanced environment or state of equilibrium throughout the body. To do this, your body responds with a rapid increase in blood flow to the area (this is known as vasodilation), increasing the supply of nutrients to injured cells and flushing out toxins (including lactic acid, commonly found in trigger points) to promote healing. Our Thermotex Carpal Tunnel/RSI Radiant Energy Therapy Device provides effective, non-invasive, non-addictive pain relief with no side effects.

This can be further helped by the use of ultrasound applications over the affected area, as it reduces swelling quickly and increases blood flow to the area.

The long term use of therapeutic ultrasound is common with this injury, as the application of ultrasound will:

• Counteract atrophy in muscles and tendons.
• Increase the elasticity of all tendons that pass through the carpal tunnel.
• Soften inelastic scar tissue from injured tendons / muscle fiber to the point where it is eventually re-absorbed by the body.
• Decrease inflammation of tendons, and the flexor retinaculum (a fibrous sheath passing through the carpal tunnel). All tendons in the carpal tunnel are sheathed, and once tendons become inflamed, the sheath swells and can also become inflamed, and at the worst, infected. If you suspect you have any type of infection in the area, please consult a physician immediately as this can be very damaging if left untreated. (Never use ultrasound over anything suspected of being infected.)

A Final Word About Therapeutic Ultrasound

It is important to know that therapeutic ultrasound will alleviate CTS symptoms, but to truly treat CTS properly and prevent reoccurrence, an extended treatment term is required - 2 months is not unusual. Treatment length will vary depending on the severity, and there are some cases of CTS that are just too chronic, in which case there are very few treatment options other than invasive surgery. If this is the case for your CTS condition, please make sure you are fully informed about the risks and rewards of CTS corrective surgery.

Never use Ultrasound over an area injected with a steroid (ie. cortisone) for at least 30 days.

Never use Ultrasound after surgery until your physician recommends and approves of it.