This blog post is a continuation of last month’s post about one of my Carpal Tunnel patients in Fair Oaks, CA. With the practice in Silicon Valley and my satellite office here in Fair Oaks, I see my fair share of carpal tunnel sufferers. Fortunately acupuncture is a great non-surgical solution for many of them.

Who Gets Carpal Tunnel?

People who repeatedly do the same movement: typists, gardeners, construction workers, golfers, grocery checkers and cashiers. Diabetes, pregnancy, obesity, arthritis and even hypothyroidism can be contributing factors.

What can you do? The National Institute of Health conducted a randomized controlled trial to determine how effective acupuncture was compared to steroid treatments in patients with mild to moderate conditions. They were specifically measuring objective studies in nerve conduction and subjective symptoms assessment. They concluded that acupuncture was as effective as short-term low dose prednisolone. Acupuncture was well tolerated with minimal adverse effects.

The subject who did acupuncture slept better with less waking at night and had fewer problems slowed nerve conduction “distal motor latency.”Acupuncture treatment offers and alternative choice to medication and possibly surgery. Acupuncture can also be a complementary way to speed recovery if you do need surgery.

A Case Study Continued

Back to my patient, we had very positive results by the end of the first treatment. After the needles were retained for 40 minutes as the patient rested I removed them. His hands were noticeable less swollen and red. He had never had an acupuncture treatment before so I asked his impression of the experience. He said it was very relaxing and he was just about to fall asleep when I came in. He was pleased with the immediate results but felt the true test would be that night.

We schedule a second appointment the following week. When he returned he was delighted with the results. He had slept well all week not waking with pain during the night. He had not experienced that pain all week. There was still some numbness and tingling and while his ability to grip had improved it was still not where he wanted it to be. He had his second treatment and was very optimistic.

Ultimately our treatment plan is weekly treatment for at least a month, then bi-monthly, monthly and ultimately quarterly to maintain the progress.

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