Addressing Carpal Tunnel Syndrome with Ortho-Bionomy®
Carpal tunnel
syndrome is defined as an entrapment or compression of the median nerve. Yet in
actuality it shows up more as cumulative stress disorder. Those who perform
tasks involving continuous, repetitive movements are at a higher risk for
developing carpal tunnel syndrome. One study showed that women are 3 times more
likely to be afflicted as men, but this may reflect a higher proportion of
women in jobs involving repetitive tasks. Another study noted that a
relationship exists between this syndrome and endocrine and hormonal
imbalances. For example, women often complain of arm, shoulder, wrist or hand
pain during menopause.
Carpal tunnel syndrome can be caused by the
performance of repetitive tasks, by structural and postural misalignments, and
by overworked and over-strained muscles, leading to muscle strength problems.
Repetitive motions cause muscles to become tight, sore and tired from overuse.
Often the person has lost all capacity for rest
and recuperation because the entire system is on overload. Muscle contractions and spasms can extend
beyond the wrist, and nerve reflexes in the spine, shoulder, arm and neck
become chronically over –stimulated. Relief within the system seems hopeless as
the body and its physiology have become locked into a pattern of tension,
exhaustion, weakness and pain.
Standard
Treatment and Prevention
Standard treatment includes splinting, physical
therapy, ice, heat, cortisone injections and surgery. These treatments are
generally only partially successful and usually only serve to temporarily
relieve symptoms. Physical therapist, Kate Montgomery published a self-help
book called Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, with simple muscle testing techniques to
assess the degree of entrapment of the median nerve, and exercises for
prevention and treatment.
The Ortho-Bionomy approach to treating carpal
tunnel syndrome is to quiet the nervous system and remind the body of its
natural ability to find balance. The body's natural response to overuse is to
create an attempt to shut down and quiet the nerve activity at the median nerve
thus the carpal tunnel shrinks. Immobilizing the joint by bracing or splinting
helps temporarily by quieting the motor nerve impulses in that area. Yet,
usually no long-term benefits come from wrist splinting. Essentially, the structure and function need
to be re-balanced.
Ortho-Bionomy quiets the nervous system at the
site of discomfort, and releases hyper reflexive activity at the spinal level
by releasing repetitive patterns of tension.
The positional techniques release tension patterns throughout the
brachial plexus area. Postural imbalances that contribute to the problem are
addressed through positioning techniques and self care exercises to re-educate
movement patterning. The pelvis is checked for any imbalance that could be
disturbing the endocrine reflexes, and then the reflexes are released with
positioning.
The techniques used are derived from the principles
and practice of Osteopathy. Positional
release techniques release tension patterns in the shoulder, arms, wrists,
clavicle, upper chest area, spine and pelvis. Subtle movement techniques
relieve muscle tension patterns between the ribs, restoring flexibility and
ease of motion. If necessary, inefficient postural patterns are addressed
through simple, gentle exercises to restore functionality and flexibility to
the spine.
With Ortho-Bionomy the whole person is
addressed. The client may experience a subtle emotional release during the
release of the third rib and the intercostal muscles.
They may take a deep sigh, or remember an emotional experience from the past,
or they may have a sense of letting go, or acknowledge that they have been
somehow out of sync with themselves. It would make sense that someone who has a
repetitive strain injury could feel a lack of "heart connection" to
their work or in their life, and that the injury could be the body's expression
of that disconnection. As body awareness
develops movement options increase and symptoms can disappear. Ortho-Bionomy
addresses the person somatically to reintroduce the experience of comfort and
to remind the body of its natural ability to find ease and balance.
All aspects of
this work are gentle, non-invasive and comfortable for the client. This method
can produce a deep relaxation response freeing patterned restrictions and
increasing natural and painless range of motion.