Pain-Free and Fit with Dr. Ric Alexander

Common Treatments for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

Most treatments for carpal tunnel syndrome involve physical therapy machines like ultrasound and muscle stimulation that help reduce inflammation. Stretches and exercises are also usually recommended. These treatments can temporarily reduce the inflammation and pain but do nothing to eliminate what is causing the inflammation. Sometimes, stretching the tight muscles and strengthening the opposing muscles will help take some pressure off the median nerve but the cause is still there. If this is done long enough it will eventually create other tight muscles that compensate for the problem. An illusion of being cured occurs but, as the condition worsens, the carpal tunnel syndrome usually returns. Treating the problem this way requires ongoing stretching, exercise or treatment; but as the problem progresses, more time is required to treat the symptoms and eventually these methods stop working.

Some doctors prescribe pain killers, anti-inflammatory drugs, muscle relaxants and even anti-depressant drugs for carpal tunnel syndrome and numerous other problems. These also just treat the symptoms while doing nothing to eliminate the cause. Many of these drugs have negative side-effects and some (cortisone injections) may even weaken your tendons or ligaments leading to even worse problems. These doctors are attempting to mask the problem until the body uses other muscles to compensate. This sometimes works in mild cases, but as the problem progresses the body finally runs out of things to compensate with and the pain returns. At this point, some doctors tell people to train for a new job that puts less stress on the wrists and to just live with the remaining pain. Not a great option if you ask me.

Surgery for CTS usually involves cutting the flexor retinaculum in half and allowing it to heal with scar tissue in the gap. This makes the ligament longer, and the carpal tunnel larger so there is less pressure on the median nerve. This may help for a while but, once again, as the problem progresses, the condition worsens until the pressure in the larger tunnel becomes high enough to cause the pain to return. Every person I have met who had the surgery and continued with the same job had their problem return. Most of those who quit doing the job that caused the muscle damage had relief. In these cases, however, it will just be a matter of time before normal daily activities will cause the problem to progress into pain again. As you can see, none of the typical treatments for CTS do anything to eliminate the cause.

The Natural Cure for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

Carpal tunnel syndrome is difficult to treat if you do not understand the progression of this unique condition or how to eliminate the cause. This is why conventional therapies rarely help much. You now understand the cause and there is a way to eliminate it. I have filmed a carpal tunnel syndrome self-treatment video that teaches how to eliminate the cause of cts naturally. No drugs, no injections – just natural relief at the heart of the problem.  I also teach you how to stop the chronic tendinitis-neuritis cycle and how to eliminate what I call the “cause of the cause”, or what you may be doing that over-stresses your wrist and forearm muscles. This 118-minute two-video set comes with a free illustrated 68-page booklet. Together, they teach you how to restore your damaged muscles back to their normal lengths. Your wrist and hand will then be essentially as good as new. There will not be a need for expensive treatments or time-consuming activities to constantly treat your symptoms. The video also teaches you how to prevent the problem from returning.

If you have a neck imbalance that is putting pressure on the nerves that enervate the forearm muscles, you may build up more adhesions over time. This would probably take months or years. If this should happen, the new damage can easily be eliminated with the treatment you have learned. You will also learn how to put less stress on your neck, wrists and hands. The video also teaches how to resolve almost any tendinitis condition of the wrist, hand or fingers. When patients come to me with CTS and other wrist and hand problems, I generally teach them how to fix it themselves and I restore their necks, shoulders or other related areas back to normal.

If you have a chronic neck, lower back, hip, knee or other problem, you could come to my office for treatments and have the cause eliminated and the problem permanently resolved. You can read about my PMBT therapy as well. I have used this therapy to successfully treat thousands of problems including those of numerous actors, stunt performers and professional athletes.

The symptoms of bursitis can be treated in various ways. Some relieve the pressure on a bursa temporarily while others help reduce the inflammation caused by the joint imbalance. In my experience, none of these treatments remove the primary cause as PMBT treatments do, but they are helpful to varying degrees.

Exercise to strengthen certain muscles can sometimes create a counter pull against the tight, damaged muscle. This can help realign the joint in some cases, thereby relieving some of the stress on the inflamed bursa. However, if not done properly it could cause increased pressure on the bursa instead. Unfortunately, since most joint imbalances vary, a generic exercise program can’t be designed for bursitis conditions. Specific exercises would be designed for someone who received some PMBT treatments but could not stay long enough to get their joint totally realigned. Those who get their joints realigned totally would be taught exercises to keep their muscles strong and more resistant to over-stress. This helps prevent the problem from returning once the muscles have healed from the treatments.

Stretching can also be helpful. It is most effective when the tight damaged muscles causing the misalignments are stretched. However, stretching the muscles will only help relieve the pressure temporarily. If done once or more every day this could help quite a bit. Again, specific stretches would be designed for a patient who could not receive enough treatments to get their damaged muscles restored to normal length. A balanced stretching program would be taught to those who were able to get enough treatments to restore their joints back into total alignment. Stretching also helps prevent more muscle damage from accumulating.

A lot of bursitis therapies use heat in some form. Applying heat to short, damaged muscles causes them to lengthen temporarily, thereby relieving some of the pressure on the bursa. This provides some relief, however heat also increases inflammation and makes the problem worse. Using heat to treat bursitis is a two-edged sword. It helps a little in one way but hurts in another. Whatever you do, never apply dry heat to your muscles. Since muscles are around 70 percent water, the dry heat dehydrates them causing them to become shorter. This creates a greater imbalance in the joint making your problem worse. I believe that massaging and stretching your tight muscles will relieve the pressure and pain as much as moist heat without the negative effect of increasing the inflammation.

Nutrition doesn’t remove the cause of bursitis, but can be very helpful at treating the inflammation and pain. It is one important part of treating any inflammatory condition.

A great deal has been written about treating inflammatory conditions with nutrition so I’m not going to go into a lot of detail here. The best foundation is to increase your intake of fruits and vegetables and decrease your intake of fats, grain products and meats. Since most fruits and vegetables leave an alkaline ash after being digested they have an anti-inflammatory effect. They also help reduce excess body fat so you should also become leaner and therefore place less stress on any weight-bearing joint affected with bursitis. There are also many other health benefits from eating more fruits and vegetables, so explore and enjoy the many varieties available.  This detailed much more extensively in victory over fat.

A number of nutritional supplements have an anti-inflammatory effect. Bromelain, an enzyme from pineapples, and curcumin herb are both good natural anti-inflammatories but must be taken between meals instead of with meals as usually stated on the label. These should be safe for anyone to use 2-3 times a day. Consult a good herb book or nutritionist for other good natural products that decrease inflammation. Even though herbs are natural products and can be used quite a bit without any side effects, I feel it is best to cycle their use. In other words, get three or four products and use one on Monday, another on Tuesday, the next on Wednesday, and the last one on Thursday. Then begin again with the first one on Friday. This should prevent any negative effects that may occur using herbs to excess. Some herbs are quite powerful and should only be used long enough to re-establish balance when an imbalanced situation is present. Always consult a physician knowledgeable in nutrition before starting any supplementation program. This is especially important if you are taking any medication.

The symptoms of tendinitis can be treated in various ways. Some relieve the pressure on a tendon temporarily while others help reduce the inflammation caused by the joint imbalance. In my experience, none of these treatments remove the primary cause as PMBT treatments do, but they are helpful to varying degrees.

Exercise to strengthen certain muscles can sometimes create a counter pull against the tight, damaged muscle. This can help realign the joint in some cases, thereby relieving some of the stress on the inflamed tendon.  However, if not done properly it could cause increased pressure on the tendon instead.  Unfortunately, since most joint imbalances vary, a generic exercise program can’t be designed for most tendinitis conditions. Specific exercises would be designed for someone who received some PMBT treatments but could not stay long enough to get their joint totally realigned. Those who get their joints realigned totally would be taught exercises to keep their muscles strong and more resistant to over-stress. This helps preveStretching can also be helpful. It is most effective when the tight damaged muscles causing the misalignments are stretched. However, stretching all muscles will help relieve the pressure temporarily. If done once or more every day this could help quite a bit. Again, specific stretches would be designed for a patient who could not receive enough treatments to get their damaged muscles restored to normal length. A balanced stretching program would be taught to those who were able to get enough treatments to restore their joints back into total alignment. Stretching also helps prevent more muscle damage from accumulating.

A lot of tendinitis therapies use heat in some form. Applying heat to short, damaged muscles causes them to lengthen temporarily, thereby relieving some of the pressure on the tendon. This provides some relief, however heat also increases inflammation and makes the problem worse. Using heat to treat tendinitis is a two-edged sword. It helps a little in one way but hurts in another. Whatever you do, never apply dry heat to your muscles. Since muscles are around 70 percent water, the dry heat dehydrates them causing them to become shorter. This creates a greater imbalance in the joint making your problem worse. I believe that massaging and stretching your tight muscles will relieve the pressure and pain as much as moist heat without the negative effect of increasing the inflammation.

Nutrition doesn’t remove the cause of tendinitis, but can be very helpful with treating the inflammation and pain. It is one important part of treating any inflammatory condition.  Remember – what you put in your body is eventually exposed to your entire body!

A great deal has been written about treating inflammatory conditions with nutrition so I’m not going to go into a lot of detail here. The best foundation is to increase your intake of fruits and vegetables and decrease your intake of fats, grain products and meats. Since most fruits and vegetables leave an alkaline ash after being digested they have an anti-inflammatory effect. They also help reduce excess body fat so you should also become leaner and therefore place less stress on any weight-bearing joint affected with tendinitis. There are also many other health benefits from eating more fruits and vegetables, so explore and enjoy the many varieties available.

A number of nutritional supplements have an anti-inflammatory effect. Bromelain, an enzyme from pineapples, and curcumin herb are both good natural anti-inflammatories but must be taken between meals instead of with meals as usually stated on the label. These should be safe for anyone to use 2-3 times a day. Consult a good herb book or nutritionist for other good natural products that decrease inflammation. Even though herbs are natural products and can be used quite a bit without any side effects, I feel it is best to cycle their use. In other words, get three or four products and use one on Monday, another on Tuesday, the next on Wednesday, and the last one on Thursday. Then begin again with the first one on Friday. This should prevent any negative effects that may occur using herbs to excess. Some herbs are quite powerful and should only be used long enough to re-establish balance when an imbalanced situation is present. Always consult a physician knowledgeable in nutrition before starting any supplementation program. This is especially important if you are taking any medication.

Feel free to comment, and I wish you luck with your relief of tendinitis.