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Carpal
Tunnel Syndrome
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| People suffering from Carpal
tunnel syndrome (CTS) develop progressively increasing finger stiffness
in the morning, their grip weakens, and they experience crippling pain
in their hands and wrists. |
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| CTS is usually thought to
result from long-term repetitive motions of the hands and wrists. A few
years back it was most often seen in factory workers, secretaries, and
supermarket cashiers whose jobs required them to repeat the same hand
and wrist motion hundreds of times each day. However with the widespread
use of personal computers, the incidence of carpal tunnel has spread
across all professions. |
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| Splinting, rest,
anti-inflammatory drugs and frequently surgery are the treatments most
often recommended by conventional physicians. However although these
treatments relieve the pressure and may eliminate the symptoms, they do
not treat the cause of CTS. |
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| Repetitive motion is not the
only culprit when it comes to CTS. Women who are either pregnant or
taking oral contraceptives, and also diabetics all have a higher than
average incidence of CTS. All three groups also have an increased
requirement for vitamin B6. |
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| It was this connection, made
more than 20 years ago, that led John Ellis, M.D., of Mount Pleasant,
Texas, to conduct several well controlled studies to show that severe
B-6 deficiency causes CTS. Repetitive movement, however, may aggravate
the condition. |
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| Vitamin B6 is now the most
frequently used and well-known nutritional treatment for CTS. However,
vitamin B-6 is not an overnight cure. Studies show that CTS will improve
after taking 100mg of B6 twice each day for two to three months. |
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| As people are rarely deficient
in only one nutrient, a combination of B-2 and B-6 has been found to be
the most effective. Taking 50 mg of B-2 each day has been found to be an
effective dose. |
