The Best Treatment Option For Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

By Tom Nicholson

Carpal tunnel syndrome is a common "repetitive injury" disorder that can have an increased incidence in smokers. Because smoking diminishes the amount of oxygen in the blood, this means that the supply of oxygen to the body is also diminished, including that to the hands and wrists. When you smoke, you also have more problems with inflammation and capillary narrowing. Therefore, flareups of carpal tunnel syndrome can be reduced or prevented if you don't yet have it if you are a smoker and you quit smoking.

Unfortunately, smoking is very, very difficult to quit for many of those who do. Smoking has been called one of the most addictive habits in the world, similar to heroin addiction, in fact. It's so addictive that those who smoke do so even in the face of overwhelming evidence that it's extremely unhealthy. And although many light up with a smile on their faces, many do so with guilt. Smoking can relax smokers, and it can give them a burst of energy both mentally and physically that helps them stay calm under pressure. Many people who smoke also like the taste of the tobacco and in fact consider smoking a sensual experience. State and local governments have begun to take advantage of this smoking addiction by taxing cigarettes and other tobacco products significantly and thus helping to fill state coffers. Those who support high cigarettes and tobacco product taxes defend their position by saying that such high taxes will cause people to voluntarily quit smoking, even though this isn't true for many people. In fact, relatively few people have quit smoking at least to the present time because of these taxes. Nonetheless, governments continue to impose them because it brings in monies. The fact that smokers continue to smoke even in the face of these high taxes only underscores how hard it can be to quit smoking.

It can also be difficult to quit smoking because no two people who share the habit are entirely alike, so that one program that will enable a person to quit smoking will not be of help to another person. To that end, many different methods have been formulated to help people quit smoking.

One product on the market that has helped many smokers quit is the nicotine patch. The nicotine patch delivers a small but steady dose of nicotine in transdermal fashion, into the bloodstream so that the smoker who is trying to quit as their nicotine cravings subdued somewhat. It's thought that if nicotine is continually supplied to the body (even though a different method and at a lower dosage than that gotten through cigarettes), it takes the edge off the cravings just enough that smokers stand a good chance of quitting smoking. Some nicotine patch programs utilize a "step down" method, whereby decreasing dosages of nicotine or delivered over a period of time as the program continues. And indeed, the nicotine patch has been shown to be quite effective, with up to 55% of people using them having the ability to quit. However, patches aren't cheap and many people don't like having to wear them. In addition, they can be irritating to the skin, and it can be inconvenient to have to remember to change the patch every day. Beyond that, the nicotine patch only addresses the nicotine addiction, not the other reasons smokers smoke.

A psychological approach to quitting smoking can also be helpful. For example, some people may decide to quit smoking by gradually scaling back the number of cigarettes they smoke in a day. For example, they may start by scaling down one cigarette a day, getting used to that new lower number, and then dropping an additional cigarette once comfortable at the new lower level. Still other people decide to quit by keeping an unopened pack of cigarettes around "just in case" even though they've quit. Just the psychological support of having the pack available if they need it is support enough to keep them away from smoking.

There are also those who have developed supplements, whether herbal or other "natural" supplements, to help people quit smoking. Again, these do work for some people, but quitting itself is a crapshoot for many smokers, and no one method works for everyone.

If you have trouble tunnel syndrome and you don't want to try to quit smoking to help resolve it, there are also exercises you can do that will diminish the symptoms if you have carpal tunnel syndrome, and that will help prevent it if you don't have it yet. In addition, doing the exercises even if you have carpal tunnels syndrome may help reverse damage even if it's already been done. Give them a try; you can look them up and try them out to see if this reduces your symptoms. - 30453

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