Massage Warsaw- Massage Therapy – Warsaw Acupuncture

Category: Arm & Hand Pain

  • Research: Acupuncture Better than Corticosteroids for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

    The May 2009 issue of The Clinical Journal of Pain included the results of a randomized controlled trial comparing the use of acupuncture vs corticosteroids for the treatment of carpal tunnel syndrome. The study showed positive results favouring acupuncture.

    The study followed 77 subjects that were either given acupuncture (8 treatments over 4 weeks) or the corticosteroid prednisone, taken orally, daily for 4 weeks.  Acupuncture proved to have better results for controlling pain, numbness, tingling, and weakness.  Acupuncture had better results for night time awakening and motor function.

    Acupuncture also has less side effects and is safer than corticosteroids.  The side effects of a typical medical acupuncture treatment for carpal tunnel syndrome are:

    • minor bruising at the needle site that lasts 1 day after treatment
    • the sensation of a slight “prick” with the insertion of the needle, but not during the treatment

    Here is a list of the side effects of the corticosteroid prednisone:

    • increased appetite
    • indigestion
    • nervousness or restlessness
    • darkening or lightening of skin color
    • dizziness or lightheadedness
    • flushing of face or cheeks
    • hiccups
    • increased sweating
    • sensation of spinning
    • Decreased or blurred vision
    • frequent urination
    • increased thirst
    • confusion
    • excitement
    • false sense of well-being
    • hallucinations (seeing, hearing, or feeling things that are not there)
    • mental depression
    • mistaken feelings of self-importance or being mistreated
    • mood swings (sudden and wide)
    • restlessness
    • skin rash or hives
    • abdominal or stomach pain or burning (continuing)
    • acne
    • bloody or black, tarry stools
    • changes in vision
    • eye pain
    • filling or rounding out of the face
    • headache
    • irregular heartbeat
    • menstrual problems
    • muscle cramps or pain
    • muscle weakness
    • nausea
    • pain in arms, back, hips, legs, ribs, or shoulders
    • reddish purple lines on arms, face, groin, legs, or trunk
    • redness of eyes
    • sensitivity of eyes to light
    • stunting of growth (in children)
    • swelling of feet or lower legs
    • tearing of eyes
    • thin, shiny skin
    • trouble in sleeping
    • unusual bruising
    • unusual increase in hair growth
    • unusual tiredness or weakness
    • vomiting
    • weight gain (rapid)
    • wounds that will not heal

  • Video: Stretch for Tennis Elbow

    Here is a good little stretch for tennis elbow sufferers.

    Indications:

    1. Massage therapists might also find this little exercise helpful after a long day of work or in between clients.
    2. If you have an office job, doing this stretch a few times a day can help ease the discomfort in your wrists or elbows caused by computer work.
    3. Also good for musicians, crafts people or anyone that does a lot of repetitive hand work.

    The video is called “Tennis Elbow Flexor Stretch”.  Please ignore the title, it is actually an extensor stretch for tennis elbow.  Tennis elbow involves inflammation  and the development of fascial scar adhesions on the wrist extensor muscles of the forearm. Stretching the wrist extensor muscles can temporarily lengthen the muscle fibres, easing pressure on the muscle insertions and giving some pain relief. The other information on the video is accurate.

    Try to do the stretches 2-3X per day. For each set, try to do 3 repetitions of 20 seconds each.  Tennis elbow can be treated with a regimen of regular massage and/or acupuncture treatments.

    Always check with a health care professional before you try any of the exercises shown on this site. If you are feeling pain or discomfort with the exercise, decrease the intensity or range of the stretch so that you stay within the pain free range. If the discomfort does not go away, stop.

  • Research: Acupuncture & Tennis Elbow

    A 2004 systematic review conducted by Dr. Trinh of McMaster University showed strong evidence to support the treatment of lateral epicondyle pain with acupuncture.  The systematic review included 6 high quality studies.  All studies showed that acupuncture provided relief for lateral epicondyle pain.  Five of the six studies showed that acupuncture was more effective than the control.

  • Tennis Elbow

    Tennis Elbow
    Tennis Elbow

    These days the average person that has tennis elbow doesn’t even play tennis.  What used to be a term reserved for athletes can now be achieved by painting too many coats of paint on your wall, typing on your computer, and other non grand slam activities.  If you are feeling pain in your outer elbow that gets worse with pressure or use (typing, stretching, holding or gripping), then you may have tennis elbow even if you don’t know what 30 love means.

    Tennis elbow or lateral epicondilytis refers to  pain on the outside of the elbow.   The syndrome is typically a tendinitis or overuse injury whereby the insertion of the the wrist extensor muscles (the muscles that bring the back of your hand towards your body) becomes inflamed. Typically the inflammation leads to the formation of fascial scar tissue which attempts to heal and strengthen the injured area, but instead often ends up forming a thick inflexible mass that glues the injured tendon to the surrounding tendons.  When these tendons become stuck together movement of the wrist becomes painful.

    There are other factors related to tennis elbow.  The term tennis elbow originated from the frequency of this injury among tennis players.  As you can imagine, in tennis a backhand puts a lot of stress on the wrist extensors which can become fatigued easily.  It is the constant repetitive use of muscles that tires the muscles to the point that they become inflamed.  Tennis elbow is quite common for office workers because of the use of the computer and the the continuous strain that typing puts on the wrist extensor muscles.

    Often in tennis elbow injuries, there is also the presence of a nerve impingement called thoracic outlet syndrome.  With the nerve supply for the wrist extensor muscles being decreased, the health of the muscle deteriorates to the point that it becomes more susceptible to injury from something as simple as typing.  This is why it’s important when treating tennis elbow to also look for the presence of thoracic outlet syndrome.

    Research has shown that tennis elbow can be healed through regular massage, fascial release, stretching and acupuncture.

  • Tingling or Numbness in Your Fingers

    tingling in handTingling (paresthesia) or numbness in your fingers is a common symptom that many don’t take seriously.  It may seem mildly annoying or even funny at times.  Most people at some time have experienced that sensation when we wake up in an odd position and find that our arm is numb, dead or lifeless.  We can flail it around it and it moves as if it weren’t a part of our body anymore.  We can smack it against the wall and still, we don’t feel any pain.   In this situation, we are experiencing a nerve impingement from lying in a way that almost all nerve signals to the arm are being blocked.  Luckily, this happens rarely for most people and disappears as soon as we wake up and start moving around.   The tingling or numbness we may feel in our fingertips on cold days or possibly every day is a less severe but more permanent type of nerve impingement that many of us suffer from.

    To understand how this works, think of a nerve as a garden hose.  Its job is to carry nerve signals or water to the muscles or garden.  If we step on the hose with all of our weight, we can cut off the water or nerve supply completely.  If we step on it a little bit, we can cut off a percentage of the water or nerve supply.  Consider that our garden needs water and that completely cutting off the water supply for a long period of time will kill everything that grows in the garden.  By the same token, restricting the water supply by 50% would have effects as well.  It may take more time, but eventually the plants may grow smaller than normal, or some may die off.

    Our bodies are similar. If the nerve supply to our arm is restricted or pinched for a long period of time we may notice that the affected arm has less strength, its muscles seem smaller, and it is more prone to injury or pain than the unaffected arm.  Often people with nerve impingements may develop tendonitis (ie. tennis elbow, golfer’s elbow) before they ever notice any serious tingling or numbness.

    I can perform some simple orthopedic tests to see if you are suffering from a nerve impingement and offer a treatment plan of massage, acupuncture and postural re-education to help relieve impingements such as carpal tunnel syndrome or thoracic outlet syndrome and restore normal nerve functioning.

  • How Exercising Improves Your Health

    Years ago, people who were in pain were told to rest, but now we know the exact opposite is true. When you rest, you become deconditioned — which may actually contribute to chronic pain.  Your muscles may lose strength and shrink and your body may lose stability.  As tough as it may be to start an exercise program, your body will thank you.  Here are some benefits of  exercising:

    • Help you maintain a healthy weight. Exercise burns calories, which can help you drop excess pounds. This will reduce stress on your back and joints
    • Enhance your mood. Exercise improves blood and oxygen flow to your muscles and contributes to an overall sense of well-being. Looking and feeling better can improve your confidence and self-image as well.
    • Boost your energy level. Regular exercise can actually give you more energy to cope with chronic pain.
    • Improve your sleep quality. Regular exercise can lower your stress hormones, resulting in better sleep.
    • Protect your heart and blood vessels. Exercise decreases the risk of high blood pressure, diabetes, heart attack .
    • Help you build strength. The stronger your muscles, the more force and load you’ll take off your bones and cartilage — and the more relief you’ll feel.
    • Increase your flexibility. Joints that can move through their full range are less likely to be plagued with aches and pains.
    • Make your body release endorphins. These chemicals block pain signals from reaching your brain. Endorphins also help alleviate anxiety and depression and stroke.