Carpal Tunnel Syndrome - What Causes Carpal Tunnel Pain?

In my land of "the way things ought to be," we would all be in perfect physical (and mental!) balance.

We wouldn't have any pain, of course, because most pain--about 90% of all pain--is caused by out-of-balance muscles. That includes carpal tunnel pain.

You might have thought that you have pain or numbness in your hand, wrist, fingers or arm because you are doing a lot of repetitive movements.

The real reason is that you are doing a lot of repetitive movements incorrectly.

Hmmm. If you were using all of the rest of your muscles, you would be pretty well balanced. If you were pretty well balanced, you would hurt less.

But we don't.

We use only about the same 60 or so muscles over and over. Most of us haven't used ALL of our muscles since we were young kids.

And we have a LOT of muscles.

So, there are two parts to relieving your carpal tunnel pain when it is caused by repetitive movement (also called repetitive stress or motion.)

1. Doing repetitive movements in an incorrect way, for example, over-stretching your muscles. The cure for this would be to explore and find the least damaging ways to do repetitive movements.

For example, holding our elbow close to our body instead of reaching out with our arm. Holding our arm close to our waist causes less muscle strain, and so less pain in our arm and hand.

2. Being physically out-of-balance in general. When some of our muscles are being over-stretched and some are allowed to shorten--due to poor posture or habits--we get symptoms of pain, discomfort or numbness.
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When we strengthen our back and the back of our arms and neck, we take a lot of pressure off the structures that cause carpal tunnel pain.

You can find a lot of simple strengthening movements by clicking here.

And you can find a whole ton of articles about the causes and natural remedies for Carpal Tunnel Symptoms at http://CarpalTunnelPainReliefNow.com

How Many Causes Does Pain Have?

Wow. Today I am feeling really insignificant.

I love helping people feel better, to reduce their pain. Sometimes I even help them see things differently, so they can function better. I help them move better and hurt less. I help them understand why they hurt.

And I have my own story about pain.

I have had scoliosis, a curvature of the spine. With it came not only neck pain but also migraine headaches that would take me out of commission for three days at a time. Three days of barely being able to think that if I died right then it would really, really be okay.

I have had various types of pain in my hands, fingers and arms. Understandable, after all the years of using them extensively treating people as a neuromuscular therapist.

You will notice that I said I have had those problems. I do not have them now.

But today, I began reading a book about pain which is very well written. And that author also helps people. She had much more pain than I ever did. Much more formal education than I ever did. And much more training than I have had. And, she basically healed herself with education and by taking action. (And, so can we, by the way.)

So, I am feeling insignificant. She has a lot on me.

But, I know she doesn't have any more heart about helping you than I do. My sincerity is as much as hers. My desire to help you is just as strong as hers. And, I, too, have a lot of education! (But not the beautiful resume' that she does.)

So, here is my plan.

I will continue to share with you information about the many causes of pain. The reasons why you hurt, and the actions you can take to reduce or eliminate your pain.

I will share with you the physical reasons. Sometimes we will talk about the psychological or emotional reasons for pain. We will talk about diet and nutrition. We will discuss the role of medicine for pain relief. We'll talk about massage and bodywork.

We will talk about getting stuck and losing the abilities we had as children. We'll discuss posture, car seats and couches. Walking and breathing correctly. I will give you good sources of additional information, and I will offer programs to help you. And much, much more.

And, definitely, we will talk about the ability of your body to feel better, get better and be better.

Because you can!

Does Walking cause Carpal Tunnel Pain?

Are you worried that walking might cause carpal tunnel pain?

I recently saw a man walking on the sidewalk. He was obviously walking for exercise. And he looked so uncomfortable!

Someone else might not have noticed. Or, maybe they would have, because it was so obvious.

The poor guy looked like he was having electric shocks going into his hands. His hands were jumping and he was shaking them. Man, he looked miserable.

There is no doubt in my mind that he was having carpal tunnel pain. And a lot of it!

So, do you think that walking was part of his problem? Was the walking causing his painful, shocking experience?

Here's the rest of the story...

Even as I approached in my car from the rear, I could tell that the man's head was really far forward. His shoulders were rolled really far forward, too. When I got next to him, I thought I had probably never seen anyone's shoulders as far forward as his were. His chest muscles were really tightened, really short.

Here's how it works.

When our head and shoulders are not in neutral, when they are too far in front of where they should be, they cause problems. The problems range from discomfort in our backs, necks and heads to carpal tunnel pain.

The nerves and blood vessels which go through the shoulder and arm get squeezed. Then they get unhappy. They cause pain and nervy sensations. They cause carpal tunnel pain.

So the answer is no, walking doesn't cause carpal tunnel pain. That man will have pain no matter what he is doing.

This is what is necessary for the walking man to feel better.

* He would have to take steps to open or stretch his chest muscles.

* He would need to strengthen his back muscles so his chest would stay open.

* His head would have to be repositioned over his shoulders and hips, instead of in front of his body.

If the man had help from a muscular therapist, or a skilled massage therapist, his recovery would happen much more quickly. The therapist could warm and loosen the chest and front neck muscles which are holding the man in dysfunction, and which are causing his pain.

By releasing the muscles which have become shortened in front from the years of incorrect posture, and regaining strength in the muscles of his back which have become overstretched and weak, the man would find a great deal of relief.

A skilled therapist would also warm the muscles in his arms and wrists, and that would help, too.

There are simple steps anyone can take to relieve their carpal tunnel pain, but when someone has as much pain as he obviously was, the help of a well-educated muscle therapist would hurry the process along.

Oh! I almost forgot. There are correct and incorrect ways to swing your arms when you walk. Walking incorrectly, with the backs of your hands facing out, will shorten your chest, or pectoral, muscles. That will cause your shoulders to roll forward.

Walking correctly, with your thumbs pointing forward, as though you are goinhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifg to shake someone's hand, is much healthier. Your arms should swing freely from your shoulders at the sides of your body.

If you watch, you will see people who let their arms cross in front of their bodies when they walk. Don't be one of them.

Be the one who walks healthy, and pain-free. And find lots more information about natural carpal tunnel pain relief at http://CarpalTunnelPainReliefNow.com