Why Musicians Seek Chiropractic Treatment For Relief Of Carpal Tunnel Pain
November 10th, 2011When I became a chiropractor in Glendale, I became aware that my technical skills were unusually advanced due to the fact that I’d been a guitar player for more than fifteen years. Needless to say, my hand coordination was advanced! I also became aware of carpal tunnel, the hand problem that many musicians develop. In fact, I was not only known as a Glendale Chiropractor, but I became known as “the music doctor” by many musicians who’d heard from other musicians that the chiropractic care I offered could “fix” their hand problems. The pain relief and increased mobility that my patients experienced, and the carpal tunnel surgeries (often ineffective or worse!) that were avoided resulted in a whole bunch of “thank yous.” In fact at holiday time, I not only got a plethora of “fruit baskets” from my appreciative patients, but plenty of “fruitcakes” from grateful insurance agencies who were compelled to spend far less each year in compensating for chiropractic care than they did for carpal tunnel surgeries!
Why do so many musicians, especially guitarists and pianists, experience carpal tunnel challenges in particular? Well, the carpal tunnel is located within the underside of the wrist! It is an actual “tunnel” (or passage) through which the Median nerve passes and allows it to give animation to the hands and fingers. Nerve entrapment is often the result of the types of repetitive movements performed by many musicians. to be sure, such nerve entrapment disorder is commonplace. The nerve is impinged between other tissues when inflammation or irritation, due to overuse, causes the tendon to enlarge. Long hours of practice, as well as extended performance, are generally responsible. Misalignment of the carpal bones frequently results. Far too many musicians experience pain, numbness, pins and needles, and tingling in their fingers and hand(s), particularly their thumb and adjacent two fingers. It is not secret that many musicians routinely awaken from sleep with these symptoms. And, these symptoms can go from bad to worse because CTS can make hands feel clumsy or weak, and fatigue quickly with activity. If treatment is not addressed, over time, grasping small objects (like a guitar pick or the bow of a bass) with the thumb and fingers can be extremely hard to do. And, although the savvy musician who is aware of the healing effects of chiropractic care would not let this happen, CTS left untreated can become the complete disability of the hand.
In addition to musicians, anyone else who is suffering from repetitive stress pain should see a chiropractor who understands the symptoms and the solution, like your chiropractor in Glendale. He can tell you more about the drug-free, natural approach of chiropractic care. Find out what it can do for you, by calling a chiropractor today!
