Wrist pain is most often caused by repetitive motions that continuously stress the wrist joint. One of the most common forms of wrist pain comes as carpal tunnel. Carpal tunnel is characterized by numbness and tingling in the hand, wrist pain, weakened grip, and difficulty moving the fingers and hand. Typically what occurs with carpal tunnel is the soft tissues surround the wrist and most importantly the nerves, gets very tight from the overuse. The tightening of the soft tissues will in turn put pressure on the nerves and begin to cause those symptoms.  Traditionally, how carpal tunnel is addressed is with surgery. The surgeon will go in and cut the soft tissues to release the pressure on the nerves. Unfortunately, the pain and symptoms will often return after the surgery. This is due to the fact that the inflammation is still present and the nerves are still irritated. So, what can you do for carpal tunnel to avoid surgery? There are actually plenty of fantastic ways to do this!

One avenue of relief is of course chiropractic adjustments! When the bones in the wrist and had are misaligned, this will stretch those soft tissues and pull them tight. By adjusting the bones in the hand and wrist, it can return to functioning properly. Over time, the inflammation with be reduced.

A great compliment to chiropractic adjustments is acupuncture. While acupuncture cannot address structural problems as chiropractic can, it does help to relieve the symptoms. Acupuncture increases blood flow to promote healing and triggers the release of endorphins. The endorphins shut down the pain pathways to our brain and will help reduce inflammation.

If you are someone that spends a lot of time typing and on a computer, regular stretching can help immensely. It is so important to give yourself a break from continuous repetitive tasks. Taking a few minutes once an hour is all you really need. These two stretches are fantastic for the wrist!

One method we also use quite often in our office is kinesiotape. This tape will help to support the joint. It will stabilize it and help to reduce inflammation. Kinesiotape is designed to draw inflammation away and allow increased blood flow to flush it out. Here is a simple example of how we tape a wrist.

Of course, always make sure you have proper wrist support when typing and using your computer. A simple wrist support in front of your keyboard and a mouse pad with a support will help hold your wrist in a more neutral position.

Dr. Meghan

When suffering from a headache, it can bring down your motivation, hinder your daily activities, and even affect your family. There are many causes of headaches and they can be triggered by things from stress to certain foods. There are numerous natural treatments to help relieve headache pain if you’re wanting to avoid pain meds like Tylenol or Advil.

A great way to relieve a headache is to get adjusted! When your neck is subluxated or not moving as it should, it can affect the nerves and blood flow to your head. By adjusting the segments that aren’t moving properly and removing that interference, the proper nervous flow and blood flow can be restored. This will reduce inflammation and pressure that can cause headaches.

Another fantastic way to treat headaches is magnesium.  You can supplement magnesium in may different ways but our favorite here in the office is Natural Calm. It’s a tasty powder you mix with water to help relieve headaches, muscle soreness, and can help you sleep! Many people are deficient in magnesium! It’s a vital mineral that our nervous system needs to function properly and without it, our bodies can start to show symptoms.

Essential oils are great to help with headache symptoms as well. My favorite oil for headaches is peppermint. This essential oil has incredible calming effects. You can rub some peppermint oil on your temples or at the base of your skull. Diffusing it into the air and simply breathing it in will do wonders as well. The peppermint opens up blood vessels to restore proper blood flow to your head and brain.

If you are a sufferer from tension and stress headaches, massage therapy is fabulous. Often stress causes our muscle to tighten up and place a lot of tension on our neck and head. Massage therapy can address those tight muscles and by simply getting them to relax, headache pain can vanish easily.

One of my favorites to relieve headaches is acupuncture. Acupuncture comes from the ancient art of Traditional Chinese Medicine. If focuses on the flow of energy in your body. If this is blocked up it can cause pain. Acupuncture can help release endorphins (our bodies’ natural pain killers), increase blood flow, and regulate hormone imbalances.

Lastly, and very importantly; water can help with headaches! One of the most common causes of headaches is dehydration. Without the proper amount of water, our bodies become inflamed.  Everyone should drink at least half of their body weight in ounces of water a day! Simply doing this could help immensely with chronic headaches.

Dr. Meghan