Wrist Pain & Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
Trigger Points that Cause Carpal Tunnel Syndrome and Wrist Pain
Wrist Pain Causes
Wrist pain is a very common pain disorder in modern daily life. Many job related activities such as using a computer, cutting hair, and carpentry, can overload the muscles of the forearm with daily repetitive tasks. Trigger points that refer pain to wrist are likely to develop from the muscular overload. Unfortunately, many people are misdiagnosed with Carpal Tunnel Syndrome in these situations, and undergo needless surgeries.
Symptoms such as numbness and tingling sensations in the fingers may also result from trigger points in muscles of the neck and shoulder region. People with these symptoms are often diagnosed as having Thoracic Outlet Syndrome.
Both Thoracic Outlet Syndrome and Carpal Tunnel Syndrome are disorders that are more likely to be created by trigger points than by anatomical or structural malformations. Not only can trigger points refer pain that mimics these disorders, but the muscle tension created by these trigger points will frequently compress nerves as they travel in the neck, shoulder, and forearm regions, and produce the other symptoms associated with these syndromes.
The Muscles and Trigger Points that Cause Wrist Pain
There are over ten muscles that can contain trigger points that produce wrist pain and/or numbness in the hand or fingers. The following four muscles are the most commonly involved.
Wrist pain is a very common pain disorder in modern daily life. Many job related activities such as using a computer, cutting hair, and carpentry, can overload the muscles of the forearm with daily repetitive tasks. Trigger points that refer pain to wrist are likely to develop from the muscular overload. Unfortunately, many people are misdiagnosed with Carpal Tunnel Syndrome in these situations, and undergo needless surgeries.
Symptoms such as numbness and tingling sensations in the fingers may also result from trigger points in muscles of the neck and shoulder region. People with these symptoms are often diagnosed as having Thoracic Outlet Syndrome.
Both Thoracic Outlet Syndrome and Carpal Tunnel Syndrome are disorders that are more likely to be created by trigger points than by anatomical or structural malformations. Not only can trigger points refer pain that mimics these disorders, but the muscle tension created by these trigger points will frequently compress nerves as they travel in the neck, shoulder, and forearm regions, and produce the other symptoms associated with these syndromes.
The Muscles and Trigger Points that Cause Wrist Pain
There are over ten muscles that can contain trigger points that produce wrist pain and/or numbness in the hand or fingers. The following four muscles are the most commonly involved.
- The Forearm Extensors
- The Forearm Flexors
- The Scalenes
- The Pectoralis Minor
The
Forearm Extensors
are the muscles that are located on the back of the
forearm. They attach on the lower portion of the
upper arm bone (the humerus) and run down the
forearm to attach to the wrist bones. These muscles
contract to flex the wrist backward (like the
motion of working the throttle on a motorcycle).
Trigger points in these muscles refer pain to the
back of the wrist region. They also can cause a
person's grip to be weak.
The
Forearm Flexors
are the muscles that are located on the inside of
the forearm. These muscles attach to the lower
portion of the upper arm bone, and run down the
inside of the forearm to attach to the wrist bones.
Contracting these muscles causes the wrist to flex
or curl. Trigger points in these muscles cause pain
that is felt on the inside of the wrist, thumb, and
fingers. People with these trigger points will have
difficulty using scissors.
The
Scalene
muscle group is found deep in the lower neck. It
flexes the neck to the side and helps to lift the
rib cage when you inhale sharply. Trigger points in
the Scalene muscles can produce strong pain in the
chest, shoulder, and shoulder blade regions. Pain,
numbness, or tingling sensations may also travel
down the arm to the wrist. Tension in this muscle
may compress the nerves as they exit the neck
region. This may contribute significantly to
Thoracic Outlet Syndrome.
The
Pectoralis Minor
muscle is a small muscle that lies underneath the
larger Pectoralis Major muscle group. This muscle
attaches to the Shoulder Blade behind the collar
bone, and runs downward to attach to the upper ribs
in the front of the upper body. This muscle can
contain two trigger points that refer pain over the
chest and shoulder regions, and sometimes the pain
may extend down the inside of the arm. Trigger
point produced tension in this muscle may cause it
to compress nerves and blood vessels as they pass
through the shoulder region. This nerve compression
is frequently a component of Thoracic Outlet
Syndrome, which causes pain and/or numbness in that
travels down the arm and into the wrist, hand, and
fingers.
Important:
The following content is provided for information
purposes only. A proper diagnosis of any condition
requires a physical examination by a licensed
doctor.