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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How to treat heartburn naturally – part 2
In my last blog post, I shared some tips on natural way to trear hearburn, below are more tips: 1. Raw Apple Cider Vinegar Because acid reflux actually occurs due to having very small amounts of acid in your stomach, raw apple cider vinegar may actually help keep it from occurring. Simply dissolve a tablespoon of it in a glass of water and drink it to improve your acid levels. However, more research still needs to be done on this. One study found that apple cider vinegar alleviated heartburn symptoms for some individuals, but the effects only lasted between 60 and 75 minutes. 2. Ginger Tea If you know that you're going to be consuming a huge meal, it may be helpful if you drink a cup of ginger tea at least 20 minutes before you start eating. Simply steep a 2-inch piece of ginger root in two cups of boiling water for five minutes, and then drink. Ginger not only has an anti-inflammatory effect, but also tightens your lower esophageal sphincter, thus preventing acid from refluxing. 3. Papaya A study found that the enzyme papain may help promote better digestion, providing positive effects for people with heartburn, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and constipation References https://repository.asu.edu/attachments/166181/content/Yeh_asu_0010N_15671.pdf https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21990307 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20420113 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23524622
What causes my muscles to knot?
What are knots:
- Muscle knots are points within a muscle where contracted fibers are unable to relax.
- The dictionary is: “highly irritable localized spots of exquisite tenderness in a nodule in palpable taunt bands of muscle tissue.”
- The medical term for muscle knots is myofascial trigger points.
- Active An active trigger point or knot is one that actively refers pain either locally or via nerve pathways to another location in the body. Active trigger points are the one that clients are aware of and cause them to book to see a masseur.
- Latent A latent trigger point is one that isn’t painful until pressure is applied to it. This is when clients come to me and they find that during the massage they feel pain that they hadn’t felt before the treatment.
- Your posture
- Your potassium and calcium levels as both help to prevent knots
- Being dehydrated doesn’t help
- Your posture
- Stretching may help release knots
- To self-treat a muscular knot put a tennis ball in a sock (it makes it easier to hold on to the ball), simply place the tennis ball in the sock against either a wall or the floor and then press the part of your body with the knot on to it and move your body up and down.
- As an alternative, you could apply a deep, stroking massage directly to the muscle knot.
- The alternative is to visit a masseur.
Good news for the desk bound…
We have all heard about the target of walking about 10,000 steps per day which roughly equates to walking 5 miles per day. Well many years ago when I worked long hours in IT some days, and lets be frank even some months, the possibility of me walking 10,000 steps per day was a pipe dream. I would say this was especially true in the winter when the dark skies, cold, wind and rain didn't exactly entice me to go outside even though I love walking. Researchers in Trondenheim University in Norway have discovered that in heart patients after just 12 weeks of walking 3000 steps every day, the hearts pumping function improved which in turn improved their ability to exercise. They concluded that moderate continuous exercise, such as walking 3,000 steps or 1.5 miles in 30 minutes had as much benefit on the heart as more vigorous, intensive exercising. Moderate walking decreased the strain on the heart, improved heart muscle function, improved blood vessel dilatation, helped form new blood vessels and lowered blood pressure. On average a sedentary person completes between 1,000 to 3,000 steps per day. Which is good news for the desk bound as you can now aim for 3,000 continuous steps which is much easier to achieve than 10,000! Reference http://circ.ahajournals.org/content/early/2017/01/19/CIRCULATIONAHA.116.022924
