Not All Wrist Pain Is Carpal Tunnel!!

July 3, 2017

So I just completed my first series of workshops called Back to Life – great participants, and good energy! If you want to hear more about upcoming workshops click here and we’ll keep you updated.

So one participant talked about her wrists bothering her and wanted me to look at her wrist and hand for constant pain that she had been having.

She said,

“My carpal Tunnel is acting up – I’ve had this for a long time and maybe I need surgery.”

So I took a look – and with minutes could tell her that her pain wasn’t being caused by carpal tunnel – it was coming from somewhere else.

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is one of several compression neuropathies of the forearm and hand. In short – it is the term given to compression of the median nerve at the carpal tunnel – a space created by small bones of the wrist and bordered by a ligament called – you guessed – the carpal tunnel.

This tunnel houses many tendons that go to the hand, but also the medial nerve that supplies the hand. So compression of this space can cause characteristic numbness, tingling, pain and weakness in the hand below the site of compression.

So you may ask – what’s the importance of making a separation between carpal tunnel and any other wrist problem?

Well, the devil is in the details.

There are many other conditions that can cause the same symptoms – so every pain in the hand isn’t carpal tunnel syndrome.

Without the right diagnosis, your efforts to address your pain can be focused on the wrong thing. And because of that , you can find that something you think can help you , well just isn’t helping you. Very frustrating. Or even worse – you can decide for more aggressive solutions that ultimately will not help – like surgery- if you aren’t getting better. And no-one wants to go under the knife for no good reason.

All for nothing cause you didn’t have the right diagnosis.

The right starting point will determine the right and best ending!

So moral of the story – make sure to figure out first if your wrist pain is actually what you think it is. And this really goes for everything else. Make sure to seek a professional consult before making big decisions that can negatively influence you.

I’m happy I saw this particular lady because she may have made the decision to do surgery that would not have made her better. So she was relieved to know that there were other options other than going under the knife to get rid of her pain.

Do you feel like you may not be on the right track? Or not sure that you’re doing the right thing for your pain?

Click Here to Schedule a Discovery Visit to Get More Clarity on the Best Options to Help You »

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Danelle Dickson PT, DPT, OCS

Physical Therapist at Performance Plus Physical Therapy

Danelle Dickson received her Bachelor’s Degree in Biology from Morgan State University in 2003, then her Doctorate Degree in Physical Therapy from the University of Delaware in 2007. After graduating, she earned her Board Certified Orthopedic Clinical Specialist Certification in 2012. She is continually increasing her knowledge base with post graduate continuing education from manual based courses such as Institute of Physical Arts and St. Augustine courses. Additionally, she has also presented research at local (APTA) and international (IADMS) conferences on dancers, and has published her research with Journal of Dance Medicine and Science.

Danelle combines her 10+ year of clinical, research, and administrative experience to produce a well rounded, patient driven experience at Performance Plus Physical Therapy. She currently works with patients with orthopedic, sports and Performing arts conditions, along with taking care of the local dance population, and mentoring local physical therapy students as a clinical instructor.