By Dr. M. Zannakis, Medical Director, The CarpalRx: This article is written for patients asking if a carpal tunnel bracelet will help ease symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome. If you have finger or hand pain, numbness, tingling, weakness, burning, or shooting electric shocks, you'll need this valuable information.
Many patients consider using a carpal tunnel bracelet for their symptoms. The upbeat commercials and bright ads seem convincing, with happy smiling customers calling it a miracle. But is it really true?
You would think so! Print ads and video advertisements are everywhere. They claim this or that carpal tunnel bracelet has miraculous properties. The bracelets containing copper or magnets are the most popular.
A carpal tunnel bracelet seems very appealing to someone with carpal tunnel pain or numbness, and wanting to avoid surgery.
In reality, there are only a few clinically proven non-surgical remedies. Carpal tunnel bracelets are not one of them. In fact, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as well as the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) are cracking down on the false claims made around such products.
Here's what the science says.
Carpal tunnel syndrome is a problem that starts in your wrist area. The tendons in that region inflame and swell. As swelling increases, the pressure inside the wrist joint also increases.
This high pressure pushes against all of the tissues inside the wrist. One of them is a main nerve going to the hand called the median nerve. When this nerve is pressed upon (compressed) it produces all of the symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome.
The symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome vary from person to person. Also, their intensity can range from "mild" to "very severe".
Symptoms can also escalate slowly or rapidly. Typically, from the first sign of symptoms, they advance to the "severe stage" within 6 months.
About 40% of the time symptoms disappear by themselves, without treatment. In the rest of patients who get carpal tunnel syndrome (about 60%) symptoms either stay the same or worsen without treatment.
Finally, carpal tunnel syndrome happens in both hands about
88% of the time within 6 months. This is called "bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome".
The symptoms of carpal tunnel include a wide array of abnormal sensations or discomfort in the palm and fingers (but not the pinky finger). The sensations most commonly experienced are:
When carpal tunnel first begins, it usually appears only at night, when trying to sleep. Symptoms like numbness or pain often wake you up. But as the condition progresses, symptoms also appear during the daytime.
Do you have carpal tunnel syndrome or wrist tendonitis? Take this self-test.
Most patients with carpal tunnel syndrome also experience functional problems with their hand. These include:
About 1 in 20 people have carpal tunnel syndrome. In fact, it's one of the most common musculoskeletal disorders doctors see. You're at high risk for getting carpal tunnel if you:
There is a small handful of legitimate and proven remedies for carpal tunnel syndrome. They're used successfully by doctors and therapists every day to treat their patients.
Essentially, there are 2 basic types of treatments: non-surgical and surgical.
Of the 8 million cases of carpal tunnel syndrome reported each year, over 7 million are treated without surgery and 600,000 are treated with surgery.
There are 5 primary non-surgical treatments for carpal tunnel syndrome which are clinically proven to be effective. In fact, the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons (AAOS) recommends using one or more of these treatments before considering hand surgery.
The non-surgical treatments used by doctors and therapists to relieve carpal tunnel symptoms are:
Some people have severe carpal tunnel symptoms. In that case they will likely see maximal benefit from two or more of the above non-surgical treatments simultaneously.
Hand surgery is another option to treat carpal tunnel syndrome. Unfortunately, the success rate of surgery (measured by patient satisfaction at 2 years) is about 50%. This low probability of success is the main reason the AAOS advises trying non-surgical remedies first.
The aim of carpal tunnel surgery is to cut a thick ligament inside the wrist joint. When the ligament is cut, your wrist bones snap apart. This creates more room for the median nerve (it actually "releases" the nerve) so it's no longer compressed.
All patients who opt for surgery will have one of two types:
Each of these surgical procedures has certain advantages and disadvantages ("pros and cons"). Discuss each option thoroughly with your carpal tunnel doctor to insure the procedure you're getting is right for you.
Scientific research shows that copper and magnetic fields do indeed have biological effects. Copper, most notably, is a good antibacterial agent. It’s also an essential trace element for the body. The same goes for many other elements like cobalt, nickel, iron, and selenium.
But those biological effects are not relevant to carpal tunnel syndrome. Bacteria have no role in this disorder. Nor does trace element deficiency have an impact on carpal tunnel syndrome.
Likewise, magnetic fields
have an effect on cell biology. They can influence growth and some metabolic processes if the magnetic field is high enough. But the magnetic field must be extraordinarily high to see any effect. Even so, none of these effects have any relationship to carpal tunnel syndrome.
Several clinical studies were conducted to determine if copper bracelets or magnetic bracelets work for arthritis pain. All of these studies concluded the bracelets are not effective pain relievers.
So how do copper and magnetic bracelet manufacturers claim they cure carpal tunnel pain? Simply put, the claims are untruthful.
There is no scientific evidence whatsoever that these products help carpal tunnel patients – not one single clinical study! And that’s why the FDA and FTC have finally said, “Stop!”
In the USA, you can’t just make up claims about a therapy. It's illegal. By law, it must be backed up by multiple clinical studies. And the product must be “Cleared for Use” by United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
It’s bad enough the bracelets don't work. Suffering patients spend their money on false claims about a carpal tunnel bracelet bringing relief. And it doesn't.
Worst of all, if you have this painful disorder, wasting time on a bogus product will only prolong your getting the proper treatment.
The problem is that carpal tunnel syndrome is usually progressive. That means it gets worse with time. So the longer you wait to properly treat it, the more resistant to treatment it becomes. And it gets harder to eliminate symptoms.
So don't waste time on untrustworthy claims about a carpal tunnel bracelet.
The worst thing you can do is to NOT treat your carpal tunnel syndrome right now. Waiting only makes treatment more difficult. And using a copper or magnetic carpal tunnel bracelet is useless -- and just as harmful as not treating.
Here at the CarpalRx we’ve been successfully helping patients for years.
We developed a medical device for treating carpal tunnel syndrome called the CarpalRx. It produces myofascial release massage over your flexor tendons. This is the identical deep tissue massage therapy your doctor or therapist uses on your wrist and forearm to permanently eliminate carpal tunnel syndrome.
The CarpalRx is a non-surgical treatment you use at home every day for 30 days to permanently eliminate carpal tunnel symptoms.
Here's why you can trust the CarpalRx:
A copper or magnetic carpal tunnel bracelet simply won’t work for carpal tunnel syndrome. Actually, they don’t even come close to working, according to the FDA and FTC.
The print ads and video commercials you see are not trustworthy. Thankfully, they’re becoming less prevalent since the FDA and FTC have begun handing out fines.
It’s important to not delay your carpal tunnel therapy using bogus products. If you do, it just makes it harder to eliminate the symptoms.
So begin you treatment today with proven therapy. Try the CarpalRx.
I'm Dr. Zannakis and my name is on every single device. So I promise to not disappoint you.
(Oh yes... there’s always a 60 day full money back guarantee!)
