Carpal Tunnel

Is Carpal Tunnel Syndrome holding you back from enjoying the activities that you love the most? Luckily, there are different types of physical therapy treatments that can help get you back to doing what you enjoy most!

What is Carpal Tunnel? Carpal Tunnel is a syndrome that comes about when the median nerve is compressed at the wrist. The median nerve comes from cervical spinal nerves, which controls movement and sensation to the palmar side of the hand, thumb, and fingers. Some symptoms include, numbness in the fingers, pain that increases at night, weakness in your hand, difficulty gripping objects, making a fist, the feeling that your fingers are swollen, a burning or tingling sensation in your thumb, index fingers, and middle fingers, or pain that shoots up your arm and into your elbow.

What can physical therapy do to help you live a less painful life and get you back to enjoying the activities that you enjoy so much?

There are several different therapy treatments to treat Carpal Tunnel. Gliding exercises, Graston Technique/Manual Therapy, Ultrasound, Traction, and Splints are all treatments that can help lead you to a pain-free life. Gliding exercises includes moving your fingers in a particular pattern of different exercises, which can help both your tendons and your nerves, glide easily and more smoothly through your carpal tunnel. Splints or braces are both nonsurgical treatments and is most commonly used with carpal tunnel. Splints keep the wrist immobilized, which in turn relieves the pain and discomfort. Gliding exercises and splints or braces are most effective when used together. Graston Technique or better known as Manual Therapy is a more hands on approach of treating this syndrome. It uses therapy skills known as myofascial release or Active Release Technique that works to release the tightened tendons and muscles. Ultrasound can help reduce the severity of the pain and numbness while also improving your hand strength by putting the ultrasound deep and directly to the carpal tunnel. Traction is used with a device known as C-Trac that could be done from home and has been found to relieve the symptoms of carpal tunnel.

We feel like we have the best physical therapists around. Did you know you don't need a referral to get help from a Physical Therapist? Direct access is available for you, please call us and set up an evaluation so we can help get you back on your feet. In Orange County we offer Physical Therapy in Chester, Goshen, Monroe, Port Jervis, and Montogmery. Westchester County has Physical Therapy in Armonk, Bedford, and Hawthorne. In Ulster County we offer Physical Therapy in Wallkill, while in Sullivan County you can get Physical Therapy in Ferndale. To round out our 12 locations in New York, those living in Rockland County can go to Physical Therapy in New City as well as Pomona.  If you happen to live in PA, we also have Physical Therapy in Milford and Dingmans Ferry of Pike County.  Give us a call today!