Those with carpal tunnel syndrome are sometimes advised that they need to reduce inflammation in their body to prevent CTS or cause its symptoms to fade away. Inflammation can cause more of the swelling of the joints, ligaments, and tissues that put pressure on the wrist's median nerve with causes CTS in the first place. The question then is, how can inflammation be reduced?
Most CTS anti-inflammatory treatments begin with NSAIDs (nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) like ibuprofen or aspirin. If you have difficulties with aspirin or other NSAID medications, of course you won't be able to take these; in addition, some say that you should stay away from aspirin anyway if you've got carpal tunnel syndrome because the blood thinning caused by NSAIDs can simply make symptoms worse. If you can take these, though, you should be able to get over-the-counter versions of these drugs, and therefore not need any prescriptions. Make sure you take the drugs with plenty of water, so that your body can fully absorb the active ingredients and therefore make the best use of them. These drugs will come with instructions, which you should be careful to follow. They're not benign simply because they're over-the-counter. So make sure you follow directions, which will usually say that they should be taken every four to six hours, not to exceed a certain dosage within 24 hours. Make sure you follow label directions carefully. These drugs do cause side effects such as stomach bleeding if not respected, so make sure you do.
You'll have to help the effectiveness of the medications by limiting the use of your inflamed wrist and hand for up to two weeks. After that period, you can try to use it more normally and see if any difference was made. (During that period you should wear a wrist brace at night.) If little progress has been made by then, you need to see your doctor. He could prescribe a special anti-inflammation drug in the corticosteroids group of medications. These are more powerful drugs of the kind you've been taking, but they contain steroids and might have side effects.
There are also natural anti-inflammatories you can ingest simply as a part of your diet. Again, these aren't entirely benign, since although they are food and therefore "natural," they may be contraindicated if you take certain medications. Therefore, before you make any major changes to your diet, you should check with your doctor and make sure there are certain things you shouldn't ingest. There is one truly benign change you can probably make your diet, which is to reduce or eliminate your consumption of fatty red meat. These types of foods often encouraged inflammatory responses in your body, and simply eliminating them from your diet can greatly reduce inflammation. Instead of eating hamburger, each game meat like venison or lean, grass fed beef. Chicken and fish, too, are beneficial. Getting more omega-3 fatty acids in your diet will also help reduce inflammation in the body. Reduce or eliminate your consumption of dairy and replace it with soy. Greatly reduce your consumption of refined sugars and carbohydrates such as corn syrup, white flour and white sugar, as these can encourage inflammation in the body. Do get plenty of green, leafy vegetables, fresh and frozen fruits like berries (with no sugar added), drink plenty of water, and eat plenty of whole grain or complex carbohydrates. Minimize or eliminate "high glycemic" carbohydrates like corn and potatoes.
If you think this is excessive to treat carpal tunnel syndrome, at least give it a try before you make a final decision. You may find that making these changes so improves your symptoms that the small amount of deprivation you feel by following a much stricter diet is absolutely worth it. In addition, there are some exercises you can do to strengthen your hand, wrist and forearm so that your CTS symptoms are reduced or even eliminated.
Most CTS anti-inflammatory treatments begin with NSAIDs (nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) like ibuprofen or aspirin. If you have difficulties with aspirin or other NSAID medications, of course you won't be able to take these; in addition, some say that you should stay away from aspirin anyway if you've got carpal tunnel syndrome because the blood thinning caused by NSAIDs can simply make symptoms worse. If you can take these, though, you should be able to get over-the-counter versions of these drugs, and therefore not need any prescriptions. Make sure you take the drugs with plenty of water, so that your body can fully absorb the active ingredients and therefore make the best use of them. These drugs will come with instructions, which you should be careful to follow. They're not benign simply because they're over-the-counter. So make sure you follow directions, which will usually say that they should be taken every four to six hours, not to exceed a certain dosage within 24 hours. Make sure you follow label directions carefully. These drugs do cause side effects such as stomach bleeding if not respected, so make sure you do.
You'll have to help the effectiveness of the medications by limiting the use of your inflamed wrist and hand for up to two weeks. After that period, you can try to use it more normally and see if any difference was made. (During that period you should wear a wrist brace at night.) If little progress has been made by then, you need to see your doctor. He could prescribe a special anti-inflammation drug in the corticosteroids group of medications. These are more powerful drugs of the kind you've been taking, but they contain steroids and might have side effects.
There are also natural anti-inflammatories you can ingest simply as a part of your diet. Again, these aren't entirely benign, since although they are food and therefore "natural," they may be contraindicated if you take certain medications. Therefore, before you make any major changes to your diet, you should check with your doctor and make sure there are certain things you shouldn't ingest. There is one truly benign change you can probably make your diet, which is to reduce or eliminate your consumption of fatty red meat. These types of foods often encouraged inflammatory responses in your body, and simply eliminating them from your diet can greatly reduce inflammation. Instead of eating hamburger, each game meat like venison or lean, grass fed beef. Chicken and fish, too, are beneficial. Getting more omega-3 fatty acids in your diet will also help reduce inflammation in the body. Reduce or eliminate your consumption of dairy and replace it with soy. Greatly reduce your consumption of refined sugars and carbohydrates such as corn syrup, white flour and white sugar, as these can encourage inflammation in the body. Do get plenty of green, leafy vegetables, fresh and frozen fruits like berries (with no sugar added), drink plenty of water, and eat plenty of whole grain or complex carbohydrates. Minimize or eliminate "high glycemic" carbohydrates like corn and potatoes.
If you think this is excessive to treat carpal tunnel syndrome, at least give it a try before you make a final decision. You may find that making these changes so improves your symptoms that the small amount of deprivation you feel by following a much stricter diet is absolutely worth it. In addition, there are some exercises you can do to strengthen your hand, wrist and forearm so that your CTS symptoms are reduced or even eliminated.
About the Author:
Tom Nicholson has made available to the public his unique carpal tunnel exercises that can reduce pain and discomfort for any carpal tunnel sufferer. Discover a way to help yourself without resorting to surgery. Follow this link to reduce your pain and improve your quality of life by doing a series of simplecarpal tunnel exercises.
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