What is Carpal Tunnel Syndrome & Who gets it?
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is a condition that causes numbness, tingling, pain and weakness of the wrist and the hand. This happens when the median nerve in the carpal tunnel of the palm is compressed or pinched. Symptoms often worsen gradually at night. Prolonged carpal tunnel syndrome may cause wasting of the muscle at the base of the thumb.
Pregnancy, hand arthritis, genetics, tendon inflammation, repetitive work that involves overuse of the wrist can all cause carpal tunnel syndrome. The tunnel may become narrow as a result of swelling, fluid retention and ageing. It is quite common in pregnancy because of fluid retention due to increased hormone levels but often subsides soon after childbirth.
Orthodox treatments include splints to stabilise the wrist, cortisone injection to temporarily stop the pain, NSAID to reduce inflammation, exercise and surgery. Acupuncture is drug-free option that may help with this condition.
How Do I Know If I Have Carpal Tunnel Syndrome?
There is an easy test you can do yourself, called the Phalen’s test. Put the backs of your hands together with your fingers pointing down as in the picture. If your thumb, pointer, middle finger and one side of the ring finger get numb, you probably have carpal tunnel syndrome. These are the areas where the median nerve runs.
Acupuncture for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
Carpal tunnel syndrome is a common candidate for acupuncture. Acupuncture has few side effects apart from occasional local bruising which should only last a little while. Fine needles are placed locally near the wrist or distally near the ankle. Electrical stimulation may be applied to stimulate the needles for about 20 minutes. You may get a heavy, numb or achy sensation when the needles go in. These are valid sensations to have called the arrival of Qi. Afterwards the sensation subsides and you feel relaxed for the rest of the treatment.
Is Acupuncture Just Placebo? What Does Science Say?
Some people believe that acupuncture is nothing more than placebo. Many scientific studies challenge that belief. Here is one example. The Journal of Neurology Brain 2017 (Ref: 1) looks at the effect of electrical stimulation of the limbs on the primary somatosensory cortex of the brain. It is found that acupuncture needling of the limbs can rewire the sensory areas of the brain. This rewiring was observed when patients experienced reduction of symptoms of the carpal tunnel syndrome. The degree of improvement is measured by subjective patient assessment as well as objective nerve conduction studies and neuroimaging techniques such as functional MRI (magnetic resonance imaging). It is unclear how changes in the brain affect the carpal tunnel median nerve. What seems apparent is that acupuncture causes changes in the brain while improving the symptoms. True acupuncture produced significantly better and longer lasting results than placebo.
How long does it take to get better?
In research studies, the optimal number of treatments tends to be initially twice a week then once a week for about 3 months. In practice it all depends on the individual. Generally the longer the problem and the more you overuse your wrist, the longer it takes to get better. It’s always a good idea to get treatment early. Diet may also play a part. Certain foods such as alcohol, sugar, dairy, bananas, shell fish and duck sometimes may aggravate injuries and may need to be avoided during the flare up.
Reference
- The Journal of Neurology (doi:10,1093/brain/awx015). Received August 11, 2016. Revised December 8, 2016. Accepted December 17, 2016. The Author (2017). Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Guarantors of Brain.
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