To heal arm and hand pain, daily warm-ups are beneficial before you stretch or exercise. Aerobic activity will increase healing by increasing blood flow and oxygen. The previous post presents suggestions for stretches that are helpful for Cubital Tunnel Syndrome. 1) Half head rolls: Start with your ear at one shoulder and your face looking […]
Stretches that keep the arms straight help those with Cubital Tunnel Syndrome open up the muscles that block healing. 1) The blood flow necessary for healing increases when the muscles in the chest and front of the shoulders are lengthened and relaxed. 2) Releasing the triceps tendon and it’s muscle attachments at the inner elbow […]
White fingers, numbness, pain and cold all indicate problems with blood vessels and nerves and are symptoms of a condition known as Reynaud’s Phenomenon. The lesser form of this condition can benefit from Neuromuscular Therapy by treating muscles that are sources of neurovascular entrapment. Reynaud’s is characterized by constriction of blood vessels. Abnormal nerve control […]
Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy (RSD) is a neurological condition usually resulting from abnormal healing of an injury to the extremities. Pain becomes out of proportion to the severity of the initiating factor that can be anything from surgery to prolonged immobility. A subtype (Type I) of Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS), RSD is characterized by burning […]
Dupuytren’s Contracture is a condition in which the hand curls up into a claw. The beginning stages can be painful. Often genetically inherited, steroid or enzyme injections can help and the contracture can be released surgically if it gets to a critical point. The effects can be mitigated with specific deep tissue work like Neuromuscular […]
When the thumb or finger locks up it is called a Trigger Thumb or Trigger Finger. They are slightly different in the mechanism that may be causing each. The cramping can be painful. For a trigger thumb, the tendon of the long flexor of the thumb seems to actually get caught between tight muscles, preventing […]
A new “diagnosis,” the pain caused by specific repetitive stress to the arm and hand muscles that bend the thumb is of increasing importance due to our hand-held texting devices like the Blackberry. To press the keys with the device in the palm of the hand requires flexing the tip of the thumb inward and […]
This is a series on arm and hand pain. If you missed the beginning, go back to the “Checklist of Causes.” The previous post reviews general issues. This entry is a list of 8 factors that can cause or perpetuate pain. Treating RSI pain is a specialty at The Abbott Center for Neuromuscular Therapy near […]
This is a series on arm and hand pain. If you missed the beginning, go back to the “Checklist of Causes.” Repetitive motions have long been a problem for musicians, people who do their jobs primarily with their hands like surgeons, electricians, massage therapists and assembly line workers and for those who work on computers. […]
This is a series on arm and hand pain. If you missed the beginning, go back to the “Checklist of Causes.” DeQuervain’s Syndrome (stenosing tenosynovitis) can produce a very painful condition at the wrist at the base of the thumb. (Stenosis refers to the narrowing of a canal or duct, tenosynovitis to inflammation of the […]