Carpal tunnel syndrom ASTYM treatments

Has anyone had any luck with ASTYM for carpal tunnel, I have
bilateral problems and PT is very expensive, before I continue this
treatment would like to know if anyone has tried it?

Thanks in advance,
Vicki

Try Yamuna. There is a video for arm and shoulder. Works wonders.

What most people don’t understand about Carpel Tunnel syndrom is
what causes it. #1 i hereditary causes. Some people are just
predisopsed to developing it. #2 is injury ie breaking your hand. #3
is repetative motion. If you have one of the first two causes, the
third will blind side you hard.

Doing therapy is good, but not a cure. Hold your hand face up. feel
at the wrist on either side. You will feel two sides of a U shaped
bone sticking up. There are tendons and ligaments that cross over the
top of this bone. Every nerve and blood vessel going into your hand
goes through this tunnel like bone/tendons thingy. When you abuse the
wrist, the blood vessels and nerves swell. It is like in plumbing
where you take a larger pipe of water and neck it down to a pipe half
the size or smaller. Or another analogy is 4 lanes of traffic on a
freeway down to one lane. It restricts the flow. This is referred to
as Laminar flow. Once you have Carpel Tunnel problems, They just
don’t go away. As far as the deep soft tissue therapy, it is good but
no cure. You can do it all yourself without the expensive therapist.

You want to get some good lotion. Vit. E oil or pure cocoa butter
are best. Message this into your hand. DO NOT actually use the
muscles in your injured hand while doing this. Let your good hand do
all the work. Message and close up your fingers again letting the
good hand do all the work. Sleep with your hand propt up against a
pillow. If at all possible sleep with your fingers fully extended
instead of curled up (I curl my fingers) This helps to lessen the
swelling.

Eventually you will need to have the surgery. When you do, you will
ask yourself why you didn’t do tht before and avoid all the pain.
What they do is loosen up the ligaments and tendons that go over the
U shaped bone.

I’M NOT A DOCTOR Just went through this in 1990 and had to be back
in my pre med classes taking notes 3 weeks later. Not a bit of
trouble since then.

Good luck, and know the surgry is a walk in the park.

Aggie
in Drying Fl. with only 60 to 70% humidity (varitable drought)

I suffer from carpal tunnel and have for a long time now. I had the
op on my right hand first…it took me 3 months or more to recover
(and that was with physio!) By the time the letter came for my left
hand op my right hand was worse than before so I didn’t go for it. I
use splints at night and

I use them day times if it is really painful. I wouldn’t have it done
again!

Lynn

Hello

I have to add my two cents in here. I have laser light therapy on
tendons and I have found (so far) that it helps keep it under
management. Surgery I was told would probably help after the tendons
recovered from the surgery but I would also have to find an entire
new way of working with my hands to avoid a repeat of what is
basically a weakness in my body for repetitive strain injuries. I
agreed to take on this therapy when I read of the results with racing
horses. I’m mindful of the placebo effect with people - I rather
doubt that the placebo effect would be as strong in horses. Although
every animal likes to feel cared for when they are in pain I would
imagine. Every one’s body is different and reacts to stresses and
healing in unique ways.

Barbara on a little island wishing you success in treatment

For the past 20 years I have been working in an Occupational Therapy
clinic specializing in upper extremity physical rehab. During that
time we have worked with I don’t know how many cases involving the
wrist.

One of the first questions that needs to be answered is has the
diagnosis of carpal tunnel been confirmed to differentiate between
that and wrist tendinitis? Carpal tunnel release surgery will not
help with a wrist tendinitis. My general approach is don’t rush to
surgery.

Regarding the ASTYM you questioned in the original post, since we are
’old school’ in our department I can’t shed any light on the specific
benefits of that technique but in itself as a stand alone treatment I
would be skeptical.

If a therapist in your area specializes in hands (either OT or PT)
your money may be well spent to have a few clinic sessions to
determine what other treatment approaches and functional
modifications might work in conjunction with ASTYM.

John

I rather doubt that the placebo effect would be as strong in
horses. 

But you wouldn’t believe how well the placebo effect works on those
horse’s owners. I’ve been in the horse industry for years, and while
laser light therapy is used by a lot of people, it’s pretty much a
fad thing. It sells a lot of expensive equipment to owners. What
effects it does have are pretty much from it’s use as providing a
small amount of heat to the area and increasing circulation to be
used only after the point where acute inflammation has gone down (for
acute you use cold). And the effect is very minor. You can get better
results form using warm water in whirlpool boots three times a day,
and then wrapping with a steroid in DMSO sweat. And these injuries
they’re talking about are bowed tendons: actual torn tendons that
pretty much support the whole horse. Fairly common in race horses,
but more from an immediate trauma, not as chronic like Carpal tunnel.
What actually CAN work is shock wave therapy. The waves are basically
intensified pressure that stimulates repair. Like how you strengthen
bone by walking or running, but speeded up. But it’s pretty painful.
We sedate the horses to do it. I know they use it in humans sometimes
for back injury, but anyone I know who’s had it says it hurts like
crap. I’ve got boarders at my barn who do light laser treatments for
their horses all the time, and they’re the same people who feed their
horses hundreds of supplements to their horses thinking it will
improve performance when patience, time, and training is all it
takes. These are also the same people who put three blankets on their
horses as soon as the weather drops to 40 degrees at night.

My dad’s an orthopedic surgeon, and I know that what he tells me to
do for my cramping hands is to first ice, then warm bath. There’s no
quick fix. And even though he makes his living from surgery, he says
always use that as a last resort. But he says there are a lot of
doctors out there who’ll cut on you if you have the money.

To add to the excellent suggestions regarding Carpal Tunnel, the herb
Arnica is AMAZING for any type of inflammation/bruising. You can get
a cream or a homeopathic pill (dissolve under tongue) in the sports
medicine aisle of your grocery. There are no contraindications, no
side effects - it just reduces inflammation, thus speeding healing
time. Check with doctor if on other anti-inflammatory meds, or blood
thinners - otherwise, take whenever bruising or stiffness is present,
including wrists, joints, etc. Of course, your doctor may know
nothing about it, since it grows in the ground and no one makes money
from it.

NOT a doctor, just evangelical about this stuff!!!
Blessings,
Sam Kaffine
Sterling Bliss,llc

its been a while since i have posted on this but i felt i actually
had some productive comments on this subject.

as a student 30 years ago we dealt with this issue as part of the
health and safety aspect of jewellery and craft.

we had a occupational therapist come in with a bottle of Johnson and
Johnson’s moisturizer and take 10 mints to explain the benefits of a
good hand washing and self hand massage at the end of every day.

he said that this will not only prevent CTS but reverse the effects
(over time) as it will stimulate the mussels and ligaments to self
heal.

at the end of every day i religiously take 15 min to properly wash
and massage my hands. i very rarely have pain issues.

Try it out.
Les

Hey,

I missed the beginning of this post but I had great luck with
Electronic Acupuncture with a bit of rest… After that, work smarter!
Stretch, take breaks, switch up what you are doing, understand where
the inflammation is coming from.

For me, my initial mistake was using hand shears to long to often
and not understanding when I needed to quit. Now I know that my
triggers are working to small on the same thing to long, using the
fordum for extended periods of time (an hour or more without a
break), and hammering to long are most of my triggers. I still do all
these things, but I run down stairs to heat up my tea and check my
email and have several projects or the same project in multiple
states of completion, so that I can switch it up and still be really
productive.

I hope this helps anyone having tunnel issues!

Christine

Eleanor,

I agree, but then you run into that person who can make a mule look
agreeable, can tolerate pain that would make a elephant pass out and
most men be reduced to crying like a little girl. They figure if you
ignore it long enough it will just go away. If you are wondering,
I’m talking about myself. I waited 14 years for my knee which I was
told had to be replaced, to allow surgery. It was so bad that when
the surgeon went to close up he saw how unstable it was and tore it
all out and started over with a heavier duty knee and thicker plastic
for the cartlage. He told me when i woke up, not to get my hopes up
to move past using a walker. 10/17/12 today is my one year
anniversary. With an insole piece you can’t even tell I have a limp.

When I had carpel tunnel problems I spent a year waking up with my
hand clenched into a claw It took me half the day to get it to relax
enough to take care of my family. Did I stop taking classes at the
university along with field archeology classes. The surgery in both
cases worked wonders for me. I’m not saying rush out and get
surgery, but when it gt bad, don’t avoid it either.

Now for another crimp in all of this, has there been a definitive
diagnosis of carpel tunnel? Thyroid problems can mimic in your
wrists what seems like carpel tunnel. Stress can also do it. Has the
original poster had the electro tests to determine what is going on?
There are a couple more remedies. The best two diuretics are one,
aspirin, and tea. Another little touted method is calcium magnesium.
it takes half the dose of calcium in magnesium to make it effective.
Lactic acids build up in your muscles when you use them repeatedly.
Mostly this happens in normal exercises. As much as we use our wrists
it is like a full on workout. The calcium magnesium flushes the
lactic acids out of your muscles.

Aggie, mall walking and spending money in FL.

Not carpal tunnel syndrome, specifically, but about my long history
of back rehab, wrist rehab and maintenance, and the ubiquitous (in
my life) behind-the-right-shoulder-sawing-arm issues. Don’t let me
forget about my left side too; just because it’s not as stressed
doesn’t mean it isn’tstressed or doesn’t need attention.

I was forced into learning how to listen to my body parts when I was
having serious back and neck problems in the mid 80’s. I learned
about stretching and exercise and massage and electrical stimulation
and nutrition, and this process is still ongoing. I don’t bother
with doctors unless something is really bad, but I do get regular
chiropractic work done. I’m always tweaking the system, new
supplements here, different stretches there, depending of what feels
best. The most important thing for me is to work smart, listen to
the pain when it happens, and take the time to do the therapy. That
means lots of slow stretching, ice, heat sometimes, time on the NES
(neuromuscular electrical stimulation, a bit different than TENS)
machine, knowing when to work and when to rest, when and how to
workout and so forth.

I tend to let things go too long before I do anything, but not so
long that serious problems develop. Surgery is, as many have said, a
last resort, for me at least. I figure if anything goes that far
south I haven’t been doing things I should have been and had better
bleeping get with the program, but as stated, I simply don’t let
them get very bad. Kind of bad sometimes though, why just a few
weeks ago I was sawing my buns off for days (only a few hours a day,
mind you) and evidently had not stretched and/or rested enough and
went up on the roof to put down some goop. After some heavy sweeping
to remove cottonwood debris, and a half hour of goop rolling, that
funky spot behing my right shoulder just up and quit working. It
kind of siezed up and I knew I was in a bit of real trouble. The
time since then has been all about rehabbing that area ; deep, deep,
brutal massage (it hurts soooo good!) pills and potions, lots of
electrical stim, the whole barrage, and in the midst of all that, a
healthy amount of dies sawed out and even some upper body workouts
(nothing heavy, mind you).

After this episode, and one a few months before that, I’m more aware
than ever about how I stretch -gradually, slowly, gently, but very
thoroughly- and how I work. Lots of trying to relax while sawing ,
which is actually somewhat possible, and more intermittent sawing
instead of multi-hour sessions, and always stretch well after a
half-day. I rarely saw all day anymore, and remember (I’m sure you
do) I use either a leg powered saw or a gearmotor powered saw ;
sawing steel dies with pure brute force is not something one should
do for years on end, I can say definitively that it is not a good
idea. I did for the first five years or so, which is partly how I
learned so much about how to deal with the associated problems, and
why I don’t do it unassisted anymore.

The back and wrist problems have been helped tremendously by
strentgh exercises and stretching, and certainly nutrition. During
the worst of my trouble I had poor eating habits, drank a lot and
did drugs, and there’s no doubt that 24 years of clean living since
have helped transform my body into one that works more or less like
it was intended to. At 55 and not getting any younger though, it’s
essential to keep up the good work , because it only takes a few
weeks of neglect for things to get bad, and for that reason, I
seldom let them go for more than a few days. Use it or lose it,
that’s certainly true for me, but also, don’t abuse it, and that’s
not exactly been an easy one for an obsessive person to get. PS,
Sam, you are definitely not weenie, or a jerk.

Dar