Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
Many people with Fibromyalgia also have Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS) in one or more likely both wrists.
Just as with Fibromyalgia where sufferers are predominantly women, there is a higher incidence of women who are diagnosed with Carpal Tunnel Syndrome than men. It is believed women are three times more likely to have CTS than men. And studies have shown that people with Fibromyalgia tend to have a higher incidence of having CTS than the general population.
It has been estimated that around 50% of women who have CTS also have Fibromyalgia.
Because it is so common to have both Fibromyalgia and CTS, it is surprising that the link between the two conditions isn’t made by the NHS. Instead of acknowledging that CTS is just another symptom of Fibromyalgia, it is treated as a separate condition. The treatment is painkillers, wearing of wrist splints, steroid injections and finally an operation to cut the carpal tunnel so that it is prevented from pressing down on the median nerve.
The likelihood that carpal tunnel pain will return even after surgery has been estimated to be as high as 85%. Anecdotally a high proportion of women who belong to Fibromyalgia Facebook groups report continued pain even after carpal tunnel surgery.
Symptoms of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
Fibromyalgia and Carpal Tunnel SyndromeThe symptoms of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome include swelling, pain, tingling, pins and needles, difficulty gripping and loss of strength in your wrist, hand and fingers.
A similar condition called Tarsal Tunnel Syndrome has the same symptoms but affects the ankles, feet and toes.
People with Fibromyalgia tend to have Carpal Tunnel Syndrome and Tarsal Tunnel Syndrome in both wrists and ankles.
My experience of having Fibromyalgia and Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
I had both Carpal Tunnel Syndrome and Tarsal Tunnel Syndrome in both of my wrists and ankles.
The
following is a passage from the 4 page letter I gave to my
rheumatologist to describe my symptoms and how they affected my life.
"I have had excruciating pains in my wrist, hands and ankles and feet for 5 years.
Wrists, hands and fingers – pain, ache, nerve pain, shooting pains, numbness, feels burnt, pins and needles.
Ankles, feet and toes – as above but not as much.
It feels as though someone has hammered nails into my wrists. It feels as though I’ve burnt my hands in scalding water. My feet feel as though I’ve walked on broken glass and then plunged them into scalding hot water.
My feet feel as though I’ve run a marathon and are tender, sore and painful underneath the heel.
Every day I am in agony and the pain limits what I can do. I do not do housework or cooking as gripping, carrying, lifting are all too painful for me.
I sometimes have difficulty dressing myself, doing up buttons, pulling off tights etc.
I cannot lift a heavy kettle, undo jars or lift things off high shelves. My husband has to do all the housework. Sometimes I cannot lift my hairdryer to dry my hair. I avoid washing my hair too much because of this.
I cannot carry a normal handbag around for too long, for example walking in a supermarket. I have to leave it in the car or my husband carries it for me. I use one of my TENS machine’s electrodes on my wrists and hands and another TENS machine for my feet.
I wear wrist splints for part of the night. I remove the splints at 3.00am. I cannot wear them in the day or evening as I need to place my TENS electrodes on my wrists."
I cured my Carpal Tunnel Syndrome by following the advice given in my Cure for Fibromyalgia
Additionally I found Qigong for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome very helpful.