Carpal Tunnel Pain? Here’s How to Interview A Massage Therapist for Carpal Tunnel Pain Relief

If you have carpal tunnel pain, maybe you have already seen a massage therapist.  Perhaps it helped your carpal tunnel symptoms a lot and perhaps it didn’t.

If your massage did not help much, you will learn a lot from this article about selecting a massage therapist who can make a difference with your carpal tunnel syndrome.

If you haven’t tried massage yet for your hand, wrist and arm pain (or any other pains) this article will help you select the best massage therapist in your area for your situation.

Can massage therapy help carpal tunnel pain?  Absolutely, yes!

If a massage professional has a good working knowledge of what causes pain in the carpal tunnel area, he or she can make a world of difference to you!

Carpal tunnel syndrome is often misdiagnosed by doctors.  Most of them didn’t learn much about about muscles when they were in school (neither did we) and so when they see a patient who has complaints of discomfort in the wrist, hand and arm, the doctor will often think, “It must be carpal tunnel syndrome.”

Maybe it is carpal tunnel syndrome and maybe it’s not.

It’s possible that you have muscle strain or trigger points elsewhere that are causing your pain.  More people have pain in the carpal tunnel area that starts with muscular causes than true carpal tunnel syndrome.

So, yes, therapeutic massage can definitely help eliminate or reduce your carpal tunnel symptoms.

Many massage therapists treat carpal tunnel sufferers incorrectly.  This is because they don’t have the training or background to understand why you have pain.  They will rub on the painful area around your carpal tunnel but you may not notice much (or any) relief.

The reason for that is they are working on the symptoms rather than the causes of your pain.

He or she is working where it hurts rather than working on the areas that are actually causing your pain.  That’s a common problem with massage therapists.  Some just rub where it hurts and hope it will help.  Sometimes the cause is actually where the pain is, other times not.

Here’s how to interview a massage therapist.  Most will be happy to give you a free consultation.

First of all, don’t ask, “Do you work with people who have carpal tunnel pain?” or, “Do you treat carpal tunnel syndrome?”

There are many massage therapists who will say yes, even though they don’t have the training or experience to successfully treat carpal tunnel area pain.  🙁

Instead, ask him or her the following questions, and

listen closely to their answers.  See whether their answers make sense to you.

• What are the most common causes of carpal tunnel area pain?  (they will hopefully mention certain areas of muscle, or posture, or habits or nutrition, etc.)
  
• How will you determine why I have pain?  (how will they assess?  Will they do it by touch, by observing your posture or how you sit or work?)
• What is your pain treatment strategy?  (where will they start after they assess?  What will they be looking for?  If they say they plan to start on your wrist, see ya later.)
  
• What type of massage training did you have?  (some schools are basically relaxation type massage training, some are medically or pain-oriented.  There is advanced training offered in pain relief after basic training and some massage therapists take advantage of it.)
• What muscles could be involved in my situation?  (You’re listening for sides of your neck, upper or lower arm, chest, etc.)
  
• How long do you think it will take for me to feel better?  (Regardless of what they say, you may notice improvement after the first session.  If you don’t notice any at all, that’s probably not the practitioner for you.  I wouldn’t give more than two sessions without benefit if I was the one paying.)
• Will there be pain or discomfort from the massage?  (Tight muscles and soft tissues can be really intense when they are pressed on.  The answer should be yes.  However, you’re the one in control of the pressure.  If it hurts but feels appropriate–good.  If it feels inappropriate, it’s the wrong area.)
  

Feel free to ask additional questions.  Also, ask for clarification for any answer you did not fully understand.

You can learn a lot on the phone, but you can learn even more in person.  The massage therapist may actually touch your muscles as he explains and/or show you a chart and that will make it even easier for you to understand.

Sometimes when muscles are very tight, as they often are with carpal tunnel pain, there may be some discomfort during the massage.  There may also be some tenderness afterward.  That is because you have some areas of tight muscles and they are not yet used to someone pressing on them.

If you have any discomfort from the massage, you may perceive it as “good pain,” or it may be quite intense.

It is okay for you to guide your massage therapist.  They want to know how you are feeling and responding.  They want you to feel better.

Some discomfort during a therapeutic massage session is unavoidable and it’s usually worse the first time or two rather than later visits.

The payoff from massage therapy for carpal tunnel pain relief can be huge.

Start looking for massage therapists to interview today.

You can also check the Massage Category here for do-it-yourself carpal tunnel massage articles.

“Because You Deserve To Feel Better!”