What can help carpal tunnel syndrome?
Previously, I discussed what carpal tunnel syndrome is and how desk based workers have an increased risk. So what can you do to help youself:
- Vitamin B6 – Carpal tunnel syndrome has been linked to low levels of vitamin B6, so suplementing with the vitamin may help. In fact, several trials have found B6 may alleviate the symptoms, even in people who are not deficient in the vitamin.
- Yoga – In one study a yoga based therapy was more effective at easing carpal tunnel syndrome than improving grip strenght than wrist splints or no treatment.
- Acupuncture – In one radomised control trail, acupuncture was just as effective as steriod treatment,and it was also better at reducing sleep disturbance and improving never conduction than the drugs and came with minimal side-effects.
Reference
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19590482
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15098856
https://apb.tbzmed.ac.ir/Article/APB_571_20130114180051
Related Posts
A light bulb moment
As someone who from time to time stuggles to digest wheat or more specifically gluten which in the past has created holes in my intestine walls (leaky gut syndrome), I was interested in a recent piece of research. Like a lot of people if I eat too much wheat or gluten then I start to bloat and get digestive issues. Researches have discovered that the reaction that some people have could be caused by fructans (the sugars in wheat, barley and rye). The researchers from Monash University (in Austrialia) suspected that the sugar cold be the real cuplrit because people with IBS (irritable bowel syndrome) still have some of the symptoms even after following a strict gluten free diet. In a 2013 research project, they noticed that the symptoms of people with gluten intolerance didn't change whether they ate food that was rich in gluten or not. They took 59 people with gluten intolerance and gaven them a different cereal bar to eat each week. Although the bars all looked the same, one contained gluten, another fructans and the third had neither ingreditant. The fructands bar increased bloating by 15% and gastrointestinal propblems by 13% and neither the gluten bar nor the one without either ingreditant had any effect. If frutans are the real problem then people with a gluten intollerance could use soy sauce as its low in sugars. While this research is interesting. For me its a bit of a light bulb moment. The reason is that I find that I can eat organic sourdough bread and I tollerate this much more. Organic sourdough bread has gluten but due to the backing process it sis very low in fructans. Reference http://www.gastrojournal.org/article/S0016-5085(17)36302-3/abstract
What is the difference between sports and deep tissue massage?
Deep tissue is a very descriptive name and is self-explanatory. The confusion comes when it is compared to sports massage. The big difference is the focus. Sports massage is dedicated to
- improving sports performance
- prevention of and treating sports injuries
- You work out religiously, but aren't as relgious about stretching
- You cycle or run to work and don't think to stretch
- You play sports but don't cross train so have specific trouble spots
- Your performance (in a particular sport) has dropped
- You have a history of injuries and want to reduce the likely hood of further injuries
- You work at a computer all day and your neck, shoulders & back are chronically sore
- You are so tense your back feels like concrete
- You have tired achy legs
- You are in pain
- You are stiff (or are unable to move your neck/arm/leg freely)
- You are stressed or anxious
- You have a knot or a muscle spasm
Is slouching that bad for you? – part 1
We spend the vast majority of our time in static positions — either sitting or standing — when the temptation to slump and sag is just too great. Most of us know from experience that sitting hunched in front of a computer or driving wheel can lead to a stiff, painful back and shoulders.
But in this blog article and the next three, I want to explain how poor posture can lead to other health problems . . . It may raise your blood pressure.... The usual risk factors for high blood pressure are age, being overweight, smoking and chronic diseases such as type 2 diabetes. But scientists now think slouching may trigger it, too. This is because there is a link between neck muscles and the area of the brain that helps regulate blood pressure. In a study published in 2007, neuro-scientists at the University of Leeds found that when cells in the neck muscles sense the neck is moving, they send a signal to that area of the brain. The theory is that this helps ensure adequate blood supply when we change posture, for example from sitting to standing. But if the neck muscle cells become damaged or pressured through stooping and slumping, this could trigger problems with blood pressure, suggests Professor Jim Deuchars, the scientist who led the study. He adds that this might explain why some people who suffer whiplash injuries notice a change in their blood pressure — sometimes it’s higher, sometimes lower. ‘It’s possible that poor posture, which compresses the neck muscles, may be involved in high blood pressure, too, but more research is needed.’
