On Fri, 07 Oct 2005 11:17:34 -0700, Grant Erwin wrote:
Charles Spitzer wrote:

have an mri. i had numbness in a few fingers that turned out to be ruptured
disk in my neck, causing a vertebrae pinching the spinal cord. a
chiropractor pushing around the bones could paralyze you.

An MRI is the wrong diagnostic to start with. You want a nerve conduction test
in both wrists, this will positively diagnose carpal tunnel syndrome. Other
common sources of pain in the hand are arthritis or nerve damage farther up
(shoulder, neck).

As much as I feel MRI is a wonderful thing (designed & built 'em for a
dozen years), yes, unless things have changed quite recently it wouldn't
be a primary test for diagnosing carpal tunnel. If the nerve conduction
in the wrist is OK, then start working upstream to find where the signal
is having problems getting through. MRI is fantastic for visualizing,
for instance, a bulging disk impinging on a spinal cord, but until you
know the signal is good above the wrist, it's not time to go there yet.

That said, an EMG hurts like a son of a bitch, for several days later
even. Combining high voltage, and every muscle in your extremity, make
for a very sore extremity.

I've anecdotally heard that chiropractors can sometimes help with the kind of
back injuries middle aged workers often get, which is basically a too-weak
muscle going into spasm mode.

Yes, muscles in spasm can benefit from physical manipulation.

I have never heard they were otherwise anything
but scam artists. In 52 years I have never darkened their door nor paid for
anyone else to. I guess I don't believe in 'em much.

I've had good luck over the years, but to be honest, a massage therapist
who does deep tissue work works better for me. The bones are out of
alignment because of the muscles; don't just realign the bones, fix the
muscular problems.

I have hand pain too, and it bothers me quite a bit. I have medium carpal tunnel
damage in both wrists, and I'm going to have the operations and see how much if
any it helps before I even go looking elsewhere.

Most people would consider surgery the last resort, rather than
something to try before going to non-invasive approaches.

I can no longer play guitar,
and I can't ride my motorcycle longer than about 45 miles without my hands going
numb. It may be I have multiple things going on too.

Usually works that way, yes.

Dave Hinz