Yo, what’s good? My name’s Dan and today we’re gonna talk about how cannabis can help treat carpal tunnel syndrome. If you don’t know what carpal tunnel syndrome is, let me break it down for you. It’s a painful condition that happens when a nerve in your hand gets compressed. This causes numbness, tingling, and other painful symptoms. Lucky for us, cannabis has some anti-inflammatory and pain-relieving properties that can help us manage this condition.
So, what exactly is carpal tunnel syndrome? It’s caused by the pinching of the median nerve in your hand. This nerve controls feeling in your fingers and the muscles around your thumb. The carpal tunnel runs through your wrist and protects this nerve as it passes from your hand to your arm, all the way up to your neck. When the carpal tunnel narrows or when the tissue surrounding your tendons swells, it compresses the nerve and causes a variety of painful symptoms.
Some of the symptoms of this condition include pain, numbness, tingling, weakness in the hand, and shock-like sensations that run through the fingers. Some research suggests that it’s most common in elderly women, but anyone can get it. Activities that require extreme flexing of the wrists or hands can aggravate tendons in the wrist and cause swelling that affects the median nerve.
Treatment for carpal tunnel syndrome depends on how severe your symptoms are. When detected early, you can use non-surgical methods like bracing and splinting, NSAID treatment (that’s non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs), steroid injections, specific exercises designed to alleviate symptoms and relieve pressure around the median nerve, or lifestyle changes like identifying activities that put extra pressure on your carpal tunnel and avoiding them.
But let’s be real, these treatments aren’t always effective and can come with side effects like gastrointestinal bleeding, heartburn, headaches, dizziness, liver and kidney problems, high blood pressure, and much more. That’s where cannabis comes in. Studies show that various constituents of cannabis have anti-inflammatory and pain-relieving effects. CBD, one of these constituents found in cannabis, has been shown to significantly decrease inflammation in animal-based studies of pancreatitis.
In 2012, a study suggested that CBD may decrease inflammation in rats with acute lung injury. In 2011, researchers found that CBD seemed to reduce chronic inflammation in the gut. Other studies show how CBD could help reduce inflammation caused by arthritis and IBS. Although more research is needed specifically targeting cannabis’ relation to carpal tunnel syndrome, current research is promising.
So if you’re looking for an alternative to traditional medicine or just wanna incorporate some cannabis into your treatment plan for carpal tunnel syndrome management, give it a try! Just make sure to do your research and consult with a medical professional before incorporating any new treatments into your routine. Stay lifted!