We don't often realize how much we use our hands and wrists in our daily lives - until we begin experiencing pain. Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is a relatively common condition of the wrist and hand that can affect the use of your whole arm. It is caused by pressure on the nerve at the base of the palm (median nerve). Fortunately for most people who develop CTS, physical therapy treatment can often relieve pain and numbness and restore normal use of the hand, wrist, and arm without the need for surgery.

The carpal tunnel is a narrow channel on the palm side of your wrist, about the width of your thumb. The tunnel protects the median nerve and the tendons that bend your fingers. Pressure on the nerve can cause pain and weakness in your wrist and hand and numbness or tingling in your fingers. This pressure is caused by crowding or irritation of the median nerve in the carpal tunnel and can lead to CTS.

Carpal tunnel syndrome can develop through daily work activities such as using a keyboard & computer and performing assembly line work. Some leisure activities such as sewing, racquetball, and playing certain string instruments can lead to CTS. But its not just daily activities that can cause the syndrome. Certain health conditions can also lead to CTS, including inflammation of the tendons in the wrist, injuries to the wrist, hormone changes, diabetes, arthritis, and certain medication use.

Signs and Symptoms
CTS typically starts slowly, with symptoms such as burning, tingling, "pins and needles," or numbness in the palm of the hand and fingers. Often the symptoms are more noticeable during the night, and people report being awakened by symptoms. Many people feel the need to "shake out" their hands to try to relieve the symptoms.

As the condition progresses, the symptoms become noticeable during the day and can get worse when holding certain items. Weakness of the hand and more constant numbness may occur if the pressure on the nerve continues. You may find that you drop objects unexpectedly or have a weakness in your grip.

How Is Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Diagnosed?
As physical therapists, we are experts in the movement and function of the body and will conduct an evaluation to determine all of the factors that may be contributing to your condition. We may test the grip strength of your fingers and thumb, do sensory and range of motion tests, or do x-rays and electrical studies to determine the transmission of the nerve and the severity of the CTS.

How Can a Physical Therapist Help You?
After the evaluation, we will prescribe a treatment plan based on your specific case and condition. Depending on the cause of your carpal tunnel syndrome, your therapy program may include education regarding wrist positions and proper neck and upper back posture, exercises to increase the strength of the muscles in your fingers and forearm, stretching exercises to improve the flexibility of the wrist and hand, use of heat/cold treatments, use of a night splint to reduce discomfort, or a worksite visit to assess your work station. Your physical therapist will also consider your home and leisure activities, with recommendations such as wearing gloves to keep your wrist and hands warm, and limiting activities that aggravate the condition.

As always, the goals of physical therapy are to reduce your symptoms without the need for surgery, to enable you to continue moving pain free, and to help you resume your normal activities.

Can Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Be Prevented?
There are no proven strategies for preventing carpal tunnel syndrome, but there are ways to minimize stress to your hands and wrists. 

Reduce force: Many people use more force than needed when performing work with their hands. Relax your grip to avoid muscle fatigue and strain. When writing for long periods of time use a larger-handle pen or soft gel grip.

Take frequent breaks: When doing repeated activities, give your hands a break by performing stretching exercises. If possible, alternate your hands when completing some tasks.

Neutral wrist position: Avoid bending your wrists by keeping them in a straight or “neutral” position.

Work area adjustment: Have one of our physical therapists examine your work area to make sure it fits your body properly. Making simple adjustments can help to avoid unnecessary strain.

Improve your posture: Believe it or not, proper alignment of your trunk, neck, and shoulders can prevent excessive strain and improper positioning of the wrists and hands.

Keep your hands warm: You are more likely to develop hand pain and stiffness if you work in a cold environment. If you can't control the temperature, be sure to wear gloves to keep your hands and wrists warm.

Maintain good health: Paying attention to your general health is an important step in preventing CTS. Staying physically fit and maintaining a healthy weight may help control diseases and conditions that may contribute to the onset of CTS.

As always, if you have questions regarding carpal tunnel syndrome, and whether therapy can help your situation, feel free to contact any of our 5 clinics and we would be happy to help you. Remember, you don't have to live with pain.

Have you checked out our online store lately? We’ve made some enhancements recently by adding new products and making it easier than ever to get what you need. Shop at northernpts.com and you’ll find…

Great Variety/Hot Sellers – we’ve added several new products to our online store to meet your needs. Products like Kinesio Tape and Biofreeze (only available through a healthcare provider) are in demand, so stock up today!

What do snow flurries and low temps mean to you? If you live in Coopersville, these cold winter days mean its time for the annual Coopersville Outhouse 500, Chili Cook-off, and the Coopersville Chill 5K run. Once again, Northern Physical Therapy is sponsoring the festivities, in particular, the Chill 5K. These festive and chilly events are going to be held on Saturday, February 25. The 5K begins at 10am at Coopersville High School and there will also be a Kiddie Run.

This year, we're encouraging you to join us in the Chill 5K (you can register here), and its not too early to start training. In fact, our weekly run club starts this Saturday, February 4. We'll meet at 8:30am at Riverside Park. We'll switch up the location on occasion to accommodate folks on different sides of town. Do join us!

In addition to the Chill 5K, the Outhouse 500 is always a spectacle. As a reminder, here is Northern's 2011 team, getting ready to start the race.

And can you guess who's team won the race? That's right... the team sponsored by Northern Physical Therapy, Hecksel & Hecksel, and Touch of Style.

While the day of the 5K can be pretty chilly, its easy to warm up with the Coopersville Chili Cook-off. Should you attend the chili cook-off this year, you must make it a point to stop by the Northern chili booth. Here we are with our winning chili trophy from last year. 

And just to go way back, here we are with our chili trophy in 2010. I think I'm sensing a pattern here...

If you're up for a challenge and heck of a fun time, do join us at the Coopersville Chill 5K on February 25. If you have any additional questions, contact Don Pratt at 616.889.8626 or via email.

If you have low back pain, you're not alone. At any given time, approximately 25% of people report having low back pain. In most cases, low back pain is mild and disappears on its own. For some people, back pain can return or hang on, leading to a decrease in quality of life or even to disability.

Signs & Symptoms
The symptoms of low back pain can vary. While some may experience dull pain, others may experience pain that is burning or sharp. You might feel it at a single point or over a broad area and it might be accompanied by muscle spasms or stiffness. Sometimes, it might spread into one or both legs.

Often, low back pain occurs due to overuse, strain, or injury. It could be caused by too much bending, twisting, lifting—or even too much sitting. But just as often, the actual cause of low back pain isn't known, and symptoms usually resolve on their own.

Although low back pain is rarely serious or life threatening, there are several conditions that may contribute to low back pain, such as degenerative disk disease, lumbar spinal stenosis, fractures, herniated disk, osteoarthritis, osteoporosis, and tumors of the spine.

How Is It Diagnosed?
Your physical therapist will perform a thorough evaluation that may include a review of your health history, questions about your specific symptoms, and tests to identify any problems with posture, flexibility, muscle strength, joint mobility, and movement. They may also conduct tests to identify signs or symptoms that could indicate a serious health problem, such as a herniated disk, broken bone, or cancer. You may also participate in an assessment of how you use your body at work and home, during sports, and at leisure.

How Can a Physical Therapist Help?
We can help you improve or restore mobility and reduce low back pain—in many cases, without surgery or the side effects of medications.

If you are having low back pain right now you should stay active, and do as much of your normal routine as possible (bed rest for longer than a day can actually slow down your recovery.) If your pain lasts more than a few days or gets worse, give us a call.

Not all low back pain is the same, so your treatment will be tailored to for your specific symptoms and condition. Once the examination is complete, we will evaluate the results, identify the factors that have contributed to your specific back problem, and design a treatment plan for you. Treatments may include manual therapy to improve the mobility of joints and soft tissues, specific strengthening and flexibility exercises, and education about how you can take better care of your back. You may also receive training for proper lifting, bending, and sitting; for doing chores both at work and in the home; and for proper sleeping positions. We aim to create a safe and effective physical activity program to improve your overall health.

We can teach you how to prevent back pain by participating in regular strengthening and stretching exercises to keep your back, stomach, and leg muscles strong and flexible, keep your body in alignment so that it can be more efficient when you move, keep good posture and don’t slouch, use good body positioning at work, home, or during leisure activities, keep the load close to your body during lifting, ask for help before lifting heavy objects, use an assistive device, such as a dolly or wheelbarrow to transport heavy objects, and maintain a regular physical fitness regimen—staying active can help to prevent injuries

When most people think about taping for injuries, they think about using traditional sports tape that is wrapped around a joint for stabilization and support. There’s a new tape in town, however, and it’s growing in popularity. Kinesio Tape is non-restrictive, which allows for full range of motion while supporting muscles in movement.

What it treats
Kinesio Tex Tape is used to treat anything from headaches to foot and ankle problems and everything in between. Patients who have benefited from Kinesio Tex Tape had symptoms including rehabilitation from sports injuries, carpal tunnel, back pain, and knee and shoulder conditions. Patients also find Kineso Tape helpful when addressing circulatory and lymphatic conditions, including post-op swelling and bruising.

How it works
Kinesio Tape lifts the skin causing convolutions (an involuntary series of contractions of the voluntary muscles), which is a result of the elastic recoil of the tape. This increases interstitial lymphatic fluid flow and enhances fluid exchange between tissue layers, which aides in reducing edema and pain.

Safe for skin
Kinesio Tape is composed of 100% cotton and elastic fibers so it is comfortable and allows the skin to breath. The elastic properties allow the tape to be stretched and mimic the flexibility of human skin. The tape is latex-free and designed to be air-permeable to channel moisture away from the skin.

If you have any questions on Kinesio Taping and how it can help you, contact us today and one of our therapists would be happy to assist you. It can be conveniently purchased at our online store by clicking here.

NPT sells Thera-Bands in latex and latex-free options and in 5 color-coded levels of resistance. Proper use of these systems for resistive exercise provides both positive and negative force on the muscles, improving strength, range of motion and cooperation of muscle groups.

One of our staff members will be happy to help you get started by choosing the bands you need as well as developing a program for how to use them from home.