Natural and Common Sense Treatments for Carpal Tunnel and Repetitive Stress Syndrome

April 30th, 2012

 

I spend a lot of time at the computer. Odds are really good so do you. So it should not be shocking when the repetitive motions of clicking, typing, and texting takes a toll on our fingers, hands, wrists, arms, and backs. All of these are connected. We’ve been told for years that surgery is the only real way to correct the damage done by so much repetitive motion-but as I learned from a neighbor who has carpal tunnel surgery, such surgeries do not provide the promised permanent relief. As I fight against my latest and rather severe flare-up of carpal tunnel syndrome (hence forth abbreviated CTS), I’ve been learning how the best medicine is far simpler than you think.

Proper nutrition. Vitamin B6 and other B Vitamin Deficiencies are linked to CTS. (See Cathy Wong’s http://altmedicine.about.com/od/carpaltunnelsyndrome/a/carpal_tunnel.htm) Angela Smyth elaborates on this in her medical guide “The Complete Home Healer” that our ability to absorb B6 is often hindered by prescription medicines, creating hidden deficiencies. Smyth advises no less than 100 milligrams of B6 daily to prevent and treat CTS.

Stretching. This seems common sense, but it’s easy to overlook. Our bodies stiffen when we don’t move around enough-such as spending 8 hours per day in an office. When you do not stretch, you build up tension in your muscles, ligaments, and tendons, making them more vulnerable to injury and inflammation. Our hands and wrists in particular tend to inflame when we don’t sufficiently vary our movements. Slowly extend each arm over and around your head. Rotate your wrists and fingers into circular motions (this will hurt if your carpal tunnel is currently inflamed). Clench and unclench your fists. Want more? Try these http://www.eatonhand.com/hw/ctexercise.htm from the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons. Remember that stretching, along with using proper hand and arm positions while using the computer, are your best prevention for developing CTS in the first place! Stretch at least once per 30 minutes! And don’t forget: remove any wrist watches–on an inflamed wrist, the extra pressure created by the band makes your injury worse!

Anti-inflamatory first aid. In CTS, your tendons and nerves in your wrist are inflamed and swollen. This swelling can be helped through old fashioned cold therapy and anti-inflammatory OTC medications such as Advil or Tylenol.http://sportsmedicine.about.com/cs/rehab/a/heatorcold.htm details how to properly use cold for acute injuries. Avoid over-medicating on CTS; I take a couple Advil only at bed time. Sleep is, ultimately, the best healer of your injury! Sleep as much as possible.

The Myth of Perpetual Trauma

Originally posted June 25th, 2012

“You really need to see a therapist” advises a perfect stranger responding to my comment on a news blog where I discuss the gross under-reporting of sex crimes and domestic violence. My remark is sociological in nature, referencing data I learned in my university education which included sociology, social psychology, and pre-counseling psychology courses. The person reading it regards my data as “angry” and “hurt” in nature and assumes that I am a survivor of some sort of domestic violence or sex crime who needs professional help.

She was correct in assessing that I survived something, but completely off-base in her assumption that surviving something automatically means that the person is so traumatized by the event(s) that she presently needs professional therapy. Knowing nothing else about me, she could not know my personal medical history, much less the details of the crimes, yet she felt it appropriate to stick her head into very private personal business. Her underlying assumption was “if victimized, then need help.”

As well-meaning as her intent was, it is faulty in its logic. Every single person and every crime is different. We each respond to the stressors in our lives differently.
Sometimes a stressor like domestic violence or rape un-nerves us, undermining our capacities to live normal life. In these cases, it is probably advisable to seek professional help in getting back to a more productive mental state.

But the point of therapy is not to stay in therapy forever; the point of therapy is to get BETTER and NOT be in therapy any longer. The point of therapy is to HEAL – just as you heal from a physical wound. It is SUPPOSED to end; if no end is in sight, then the treatment isn’t working and a new therapist and/or approach is needed, just as you would do for any physical condition – like my chronic migraines where prescription drugs didn’t help, but a change to holistic therapy DID in reducing my physical pain.

Just as a stressor may unnerve us, it may equally INSPIRE us; we can and typically do respond to stress POSITIVELY. Surviving domestic violence or a sex crime often provokes us to make positive changes in our lives, allowing us to break destructive habits, increase in wisdom/insight, and grow deeper in our chosen spirituality. We learn from every experience in our lives; the most stressful events are generally the best teachers.

Despite living my life today with physical scars on my body that will never really go away from the crimes I suffered, I can honestly tell you that I would not change anything about my life, even and especially the mistakes I’ve made.
I am not less of a person. I am not weak for surviving criminal behavior. All of these experiences have given me insight, forced me to grow religiously, and developed inner resources and skills I would never have been able to. Through the crimes I suffered, I came to finally overcome several bad habits I’ve had that, in hindsight, have been rather self-destructive. Under the stress of coping with these hurtful events, I have discovered that I BLOSSOMED as an individual. My insights and understanding of the world is rooted in them.

Have I ever gone to therapy? Absolutely, many times over the course of my life, and using many different approaches. But therapy did its job: to help me cope and move on.

Surviving a crime is not a life sentence, no matter how brutal, horrible, or long-lasting. We all heal and move on. Surviving is not weakness, not something to be pitied. The strongest people in the world all survived some sort of serious trauma. Remember that next time you hear someone suffered something; odds are really good they are tougher inside than you are!