Carpal tunnel syndrome is so common that almost everybody has heard of it by now. You may even have it. It’s most common in people over the age of 50. And the usual conventional treatment for the condition is surgery.
However, before someone with carpal tunnel syndrome resorts to surgery, they should give natural medicine a try. That’s because it works. In over 35 years of practicing medicine, I’ve referred only a handful of patients to surgery.
The symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome consist of a burning, numbness, pain, or tingling sensation in the thumb and first two fingers of the hand. The hand may become weak, and it may be difficult to hold or grasp objects tightly. The discomfort often extends up into the arm, and even can go as far as the shoulder and neck.
It all starts in an area in the middle of the wrist called the carpal tunnel, which is a small tunnel formed by ligaments, tendons, and soft tissue. The median nerve passes through this tunnel. The symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome are caused by a compression on the median nerve as it passes through. The compression can be caused by any kind of repetitive work that results in trauma and/or inflammation to the wrist. It’s common where people do a lot of uninterrupted typing, grocery checking, knitting, etc.
But not everybody who does these activities will develop carpal tunnel syndrome. This is because in order for the compression to trigger the syndrome, one or more pre-conditions are required. And the secret to curing carpal tunnel syndrome is finding out and eliminating these pre-conditions.
The known pre-conditions that can lead to carpal tunnel syndrome include cervical (neck) subluxation, weight gain, hypothyroidism, arthritis, diabetes, and vitamin deficiencies. When any one or several of these conditions are in place, they can trigger the compression that ultimately causes the condition. So what can be done to treat the disorder? Let’s work our way down this list.
The only way to be sure if cervical subluxation is at the root cause of carpal tunnel is to have a chiropractic evaluation. I normally get this referral if none of the causes mentioned below are obvious. But I always recommend a chiropractic referral if and when other treatments have failed.
If the cause is weight gain, the treatment is obvious. But don’t forget that many cases of excessive weight are the result of undiagnosed hypothyroidism.
Start With Hypothyroidism
If the cause is hypothyroidism, then once again the cure is obvious — treat the thyroid. The potential problem here is that many doctors will miss the diagnosis. This is because we were all mistakenly taught in medical school that the only way to diagnose hypothyroidism is when the thyroid blood tests are abnormal. This turns out to be completely untrue.
There are many articles in the medical literature that explain how hypothyroidism can be present even when all of the thyroid blood tests are in the “normal range.” This is particularly true for the most common test used to diagnose hypothyroidism, the TSH test.
The only 100% reliable way to be sure that the body has normal thyroid function is to measure resting metabolic rate (RMR). This test is easy to do, is well validated in the scientific and medical literature, and often indicates hypothyroidism when all of the blood tests are normal.
The best way to determine RMR is with Bio-Energy Testing®. This is a testing procedure that I have developed that measures RMR. It also compares the result to what would be optimal for the weight, height, body fat percentage, and sex of the person taking the test. You can learn more about Bio-Energy Testing and find a clinic near you that offers it by going to
www.bioenergytesting.com.
The way I used to diagnose hypothyroidism before I had Bio-Energy Testing was by a physical examination, a symptom check, and a trial of thyroid hormone supplementation. In other words, if the patient looked like someone with hypothyroidism, and had some of the symptoms commonly seen in hypothyroidism (such as carpal tunnel syndrome), I would give them a trial of thyroid hormone. If the symptoms went away, then I was able to diagnose it. If there was no improvement, then I knew I was wrong.
Other Causes to Consider
If the cause is arthritis, then you have to treat the arthritis. Since carpal tunnel syndrome is most common in people over 45, as is arthritis, a typical cause is deficient sex hormones. It also can mean using anti-inflammatory herbs and nutrients, such as boswellia, ginger, curcumin, MSM, glucosamine, chondroitin, etc. Topical anti-inflammatory creams often work, such as essential oils and topical aspirin cream. You can find this at most health food stores and pharmacies.
If the cause is diabetes, once again the treatment is to take measures to keep the blood sugar levels in a normal range. To find out all about some very innovative ways to do this, be sure to read my latest book, The Type 2 Diabetes Breakthrough.
Finally, the most common single pre-condition for carpal tunnel syndrome is a deficiency of the B-vitamins, particularly B6. Studies have shown that simply taking these nutrients can resolve carpal tunnel syndrome a good 50-60% of the time. Take a B-complex capsule containing 50 mg of each of the B-vitamins, along with 100 mg of vitamin B6 twice a day. You can expect to do this for three to four months before the problem completely resolves itself.
The Single Most Effective Treatment
Although the above treatments are all effective in different situations, there’s one other treatment to consider. It is, perhaps, the single most effective way to decrease the compression and cure the symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome. This treatment is ozone therapy.
I teach doctors how to do this therapy twice a year in my ozone course. And if you are one of the many doctors who subscribe to this newsletter, be sure to go to this course. There is probably nothing else that I have found in over 35 years of medicine that is as marvelous as a stand-alone therapy as ozone therapy. Doctors can learn more about the next course by going to www.shallenbergerozonecourse.com.
The technique for treating carpal tunnel syndrome with ozone is as follows. Inject 0.5 cc of a special form of B12 called methyl-B12, 0.5 cc B6, and 1.0 cc of 2% buffered procaine just under the skin (sub-q) over the underside of the wrist. Then inject 2 cc of ozone at a concentration of 10 gamma in the same area. Do this treatment once a week until the symptoms are gone.
Of course many cases are multi-factorial. In that case it may be necessary to employ several of these therapies simultaneously in order to resolve the problem. But I can tell you that over 90% of all cases of carpal tunnel syndrome can be cured with these methods. And that’s important, because these therapies work only because they remove the cause of the condition.
Since surgery does not remove the initial cause(s), it doesn’t always work. And, if it does work, there is another distinct possibility you need to be aware of. Since surgery doesn’t fix the actual cause, the condition may show up later in the other hand. If it does, you’re in for another trip to the operating room.