AppalachianPT: Facts Regarding Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

May, 2020

NEWSLETTER

NUMBING FACTS REGARDING CARPAL TUNNEL SYNDROME

Whether you have pain or have been suffering for a long time, seeing a physical therapist at Appalachian Physical Therapy, Inc. can help you return to a more active and pain-free life. Give us a call at: • Broadway: 540-901-9501 • Harrisonburg: 540-209-8977 • Pinehurst: 910-215-0541 You see most of the studies done or performed use older technology involving standard sensory conduction techniques in the electrodiagnosis of carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS). This would be great if this was the best we could do. But there are many ways to perform these studies and some much better than others 1-2 . Unfortunately the patient is usually left in the dark when it comes to explaining the outcomes and are usually told they need surgery because the studies that were performed indicated the same. OK so how about a little English here please. There are so many things that can mimic CTS with numbness into your hand and fingers. Even some of the diagnostic tests that have been used for decades have been shown to have poor diagnostic capability. This is one of the reasons here in Virginia, worker’s compensation (WC) insurance does not recognize it as an entity unto itself. Sometimes the tests done to help with diagnosing are misleading finding normal abnormalities that occur in the general population 3 . It should be pretty obvious we do not just use our arms and hands at work. They are used constantly with everything we do.

Recently I had a patient come into our office with a diagnosis of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS) and was scheduled for surgery. She had already had a nerve conduction velocity (NCV) test and decided she wanted to try a chance with physical therapy while she was waiting for her surgery to be rescheduled from being cancelled due to COVID-19. Her symptoms had been coming and going for a little over 2 years and were gradually getting worse. She actually came to us at the recommendation from two of her friends that had received treatment here previously. She stated we had made a life changing event in their lives and she wanted to try and see if we could produce the same for her. Life changing? This was already shaping up to be challenging. CTS is exactly what it says; a syndrome. A syndrome is a collection or group of symptoms that have been associated or occur together. Now CTS is defined as a painful condition of the hand and fingers caused by compression of a major nerve where it passes over the carpal bones through a passage at the front of the wrist, alongside the flexor tendons of the hand. It may be caused by repetitive movements over a long period, or by fluid retention, and is characterized by sensations of tingling, numbness, or burning. There you have it, pretty cut and dry. But it is far from the truth!

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