Kickas.org Forums Ankylosing Spondylitis General Discussion #1 AS Web Support Group C Spine Facet Fusion

loveoneanother (and others):

when i had tendonitis in my dq tendon and the tendon that runs next to the dq tendon (and later when i had a torn ligament in my ulnar wrist), i went to a hand therapist (hand PT)......they are very good at differentiating between CTS, tendonitis, or referred pain or numbness from impinged nerves. so if one isn't sure what the problem is with their hands / wrists, a good hand PT can dx the problem (and then treat it if its a true hand/wrist problem). ruling something out can be as useful as determining what it is. i don't remember how she did it, but my hand PT ruled out CTS for me, even though part of my pain was in the same location. one thing i think i remember her saying is that a wrist brace will help the CTS but will often make tendonitis worse (braces always make mine a lot worse).

Pea: thanks

Donna: if we had a "like" option like on FB, i'd click on it!

Hi there!
Sorry I took so long to reply but I don't come here every day.

I seriously doubt you have carpal tunnel syndrome as well. When it's bilateral and you're not engaged in any activity that would cause a repetitive stress injury, then the cause must be systemic. This is what the technician who did the nerve conduction studies told me 15 years ago and then he added: "But good luck finding the cause!"

Yes, I had numbness and pain in both hands. It came on suddenly one night when I woke up and couldn't move my hands at all! It scared me half to death because I didn't know what was going on. I believe this is when my C-Spine began to fuse. With the years the numbness and pain became less severe but it was always present.

When they finally did the x-rays and saw the spinal fusion I told my massage therapist and yes, she massaged the neck and shoulder area with a different technique which somehow released the compression on the nerve roots that lead to my arms and hands. The effect was immediate and it has lasted all week. My next appointment with her is in a few hours.

However, you must find a very good physical and/or massage therapist who knows what he or she is doing because manipulating the spine when you have AS can be dangerous. That is why they don't recommend chiropractic manipulation for AS.

Hope you find some relief from your hand numbness.

PS: Btw... I forgot to mention I also started taking Alpha Lipoic acid for peripheral neuropathies like carpal tunnel and maybe this helped as well.