Head 2 Toe Wellness Solutions

What is Ulnar Nerve Entrapment?

When the ulnar nerve is entrapped along its pathway, the pain may be felt at the shoulders, on the inside of elbows and wrists. Symptoms may also include weakness in the hand, pins and needles, tingling and numbness in the palm and in a ring and little fingers. If left untreated, it leads to muscle atrophy.

The most commonly, the pain in the elbow (Cubital Tunnel Syndrome) and the wrist (Guyon’s Canal Syndrome) is caused due to the repetitive compression at sites.

Leaning on the elbow for a prolonged period may compress the ulnar nerve and cause the pain and tingling on the inside of elbows.

The pain in the wrist and altered sensation in the palm of the hand and fingers are frequently experienced by cyclists due to prolonged gripping of a handlebar (cyclist’s palsy) and weightlifters due to the constant palmar pressure.

The ulnar nerve entrapment may also occur from the repetitive use of power tools, trauma, swelling, and other pathologies.

Intervention and Prevention

Whether you are a passionate cyclist or weightlifter, or someone whose job requires repetitive griping, our team of therapists can help you. We will assess you and recommend the best course of treatment for your individual needs. We will work with you so you can achieve your goals and continue with your activities.

In our clinics, we use many therapy modalities:

• Hands-on manual therapy
• Neural glides
• Low level laser therapy
• Dry needling with or without electrical stimulation
• Strengthening and stretching program
• Education on activity modification
• Kinesio taping

What is Carpal Tunnel Syndrome?

Carpal tunnel syndrome usually develops due to injuries, overuse and repetitive flexion of the wrist. Those movements may cause inflammation of median nerve and tendons in the wrist’s narrow passageway called carpal tunnel. The pressure on the entrapped median nerve cause pain, tingling, numbness and weakness of the hand.

As the carpal tunnel syndrome develops slowly, usually the pain, pins and needles sensation starts at night and when you wake up. With the progression of inflammation, the weakness in the thumb and first two fingers with the pain and tingling sensation starts to occur more frequently during daily activities for example when driving, holding various objects such as a phone or a glass of water, etc. impacting you daily functioning.

Some conditions (diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, thyroid dysfunction…), direct injury to the wrist such as fracture or sprain of the wrist (sport related injuries, falls on the outstretched hand…), work related injuries (frequent use of vibrating hand tools), playing music instruments (piano, guitar, violin…) increase the risk of developing carpal tunnel syndrome.

Over the time, the carpal tunnel syndrome can cause radiating pain up the arm and shoulder. If not treated, it can cause the wasting (atrophy) of hand muscles and loss of sensation on the thumb side of the hand

Treatment and prevention

Our physio and occupational therapists will develop the best and specific treatment plan for you to reduce your pain and improve movement and functional use of the hand.

• We use conservative, non-invasive approach in treating the carpal tunnel syndrome including physical manual therapy, dry needling with or without electro stimulation, shockwave therapy and low-level laser therapy.
• We will develop a specific set of stretching and strengthening exercises for you to prevent muscle atrophy, improve functional movement and reduce pain and numbness.
• We will recommend a resting splint if needed as well as advise on minor aids you can use at home or at work to help minimize aggravation with daily activities
• We will help you to develop and incorporate rest throughout your daily routine to relive pressure on median nerve during acute phase
• We will teach you how you can prevent the recurring median nerve and tissue inflammation with modifying tasks that cause carpal tunnel syndrome, proper ergonomic set up at home or at work and will create a plan for your regular preventative stretching exercises.

The early intervention of carpal tunnel syndrome gives the best outcome.

It seems everyone is recommending or taking magnesium as a supplement. But what is it and why may it be beneficial for you?

Magnesium is the fourth abundant mineral found in our bodies. It is essential for a lot of the metabolic process and bodily functions. It’s important for energy, our muscle health and nervous system. It can be found in our food like nuts, seeds and legumes but research has shown that 50% of us are not getting enough.

Low levels of magnesium are linked to type 2 diabetes, heart disease and alzheimers as it plays an important role for our bodies and brain.

Magnesium can help keep inflammatory markers low, reduce muscle cramps and tension and help with migraines and depression.

It is important to speak to a health practitioner before taking magnesium as it can affect the way your body absorbs other medications. Likewise other medications can affect how our body naturally absorbs magnesium.

There are a lot of options for over-the-counter magnesium supplements, and it is difficult to know which is best.

Metagenics is recognised as a Leading Natural Health Science Company and the innovators in Natural Health products and Healthcare Professional education. Head 2 Toe supply magnesium supplements from the Metagenics range. It is important to speak with a practitioner to find the right one for you.

What is Active Ageing?

As we age, we can experience a physiological decline in both physical function and mental abilities. This can include loss of muscle mass, reduced memory, reduced balance, increased difficulty performing daily tasks and increase the risk of chronic conditions. However, we also know that exercise can help to reduce this decline, and in fact improve our physical functioning, reduce the risk of chronic conditions and improve memory.

We know that exercise and physical activity has a multifaceted benefit on our health and wellbeing. Being physically active as we age is imperative to maintaining function, independence, physical functioning during activities of daily living as well as psychological benefits.

In Australia, there is a large portion of the population who are not participating in the recommended level of physical activity. Physical activity incorporates and body movement via the skeletal muscles that results in the expenditure of energy. This includes housework, activities of daily living and structured exercise.

It is recommended that adults over the age of 65 participate in at least 30 minutes of moderate intensity exercise every day of the week. Including a combination of aerobic fitness, weight training and balance. So what does this mean?

• Aerobic fitness or cardiorespiratory training may include walking, swimming or cycling
• Resistance training includes exercises where you have to move against a resistance with the aim to improve strength. Such as bicep curls, sit to stands, wall push-ups, step ups, shoulder press, etc. These can be performed with weights or using body weight as the resistance
• Balance training includes movements such as heel-toe walking, standing on one leg or standing on an uneven surface such as a cushion

For people with chronic or complex conditions or joint pain, it is important to seek an exercise professional who can create a tailored exercise program to optimise your health and function based on your health and personal goals.