What helps carpal tunnel syndrome?
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS)mis caused by compression of the median nerve creating tingling, numbness and pain. For people with really severe CTS or where other teatments have failed surgery is the available.
Recently an Iranian pilot study assessed the effectiveness of chamomile oil in patients with severe CTS. Chamomile oil is considered a tonic for the nerve system and is well known for its anti-inflamatory and analgesic (pain relief) properties. Twenty six patients with severe CTS who had declined surgery took parit in a randomised double-blind placebo controlled trial and were allocated either to the treatment group or the control group. Both groups were requested to wear immobilising wrist splint every night for four weeks as the standard treatment. Both groups were asked to to apply five drops of the perscribed oil (chamomile for the treatment group and parrafin/sesame oil mixture for the control group) for their wrists morning and evening without massaging the area. Electodiagnostic measure shows no significant changes however significant improvements were reports in the symptomatic and functional status of the patients. The author’s concluded that “chamomile oild seems to be helpful for patients with severe CTS” however, longer intervention period seem to be essential and further studies of a larger patient group are recommended.
If you are experience any symptoms associated with Carpal Tunnel Syndrome we office Seated Acupressure Neck & Shoulder massage which may assist you.
References
Hashempur MH, Lari ZN, Ghoreishi PS, et al (2015). A pilot randomised double-blind placebo-controlled trial on topical Chamomile oil (Marticaria Chamomilla L.) for severe carpal tunnel syndrome, Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice 21: 223-228
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Is exercise beneficial for Neck & Shoulder pain?
The first reaction when we are in pain is often to take a painkiller. I know from experience in clinic, when that the painkiller stops working that is when our clients book a massage. But would exerise help? To me it is counter-intuitive to exercise when in pain so I was interested in a recent study that looked into this. A study of 176 people investigated if the standard Fustra20Neck&Back exercise programme (scroll to bottom for full details) for reducing pain and increasing fitenss of office workers with neck or lower back pain works. All the participants sat for at least 6 hours a day at a desk and had experienced at least 2 episodes of moderate pain in the last month before the study started. The study participants included both men and women between 30 - 50 years old. Half were asigned to the exericse group and half to the control group. The exercise group carried out the Fustra20Neck&Back exercise programme for 1 hour twice a week for 10 weeks. More than 90% of the particpants in the exercise group found that the intensity of the pain and fequency of the pain decreased significantly. Improvements in neck & shoulder flexibility and quality of life were also recorded. However there was no significant differences in lower back pain. Reference
Fustra20Neck&Back exercise programme The programme comprised a 10 minute aerobic warm-up on a cross-trainer. Then 10 functional flexibility exercises, four strength exercises, five core exercises and a 10 minute cool down. Click below to see the 10 functional exercises for your shoulders.Effectiveness of a standardised exercise programme for recurrent neck and low back pain: a multicentre, randomised, two-arm, parallel group trial across 34 fitness clubs in Finland
Click below to see the strenght and core exercises.
