My neighbor stopped me as I was on my way out this evening and asked if there was an alternative medicine approach to carpal tunnel syndrome (keep in mind that she is a cardiac nurse, a medical professional).
My first response was MFR (Myofascial Release), and maybe some Reiki. (John Barnes, who created MFR, says that there is no such thing as carpal tunnel. It is constricted fascia that needs to be pliable again.) My neighbor told me that she had it so bad that she couldn’t feel with her fingertips. Her hands were swollen, and hurting her quite a lot. In fact, it was so bad that it was keeping her up at night. She didn’t want to consider surgery as that only leaves scar tissue, and people usually get it back again. (Scar tissue just becomes more constricted fascia which is why the problem returns. If one has surgery, they usually never get rid of the problem.) I told her that I would look at her hands when I got back, and see what I could do for them.
At this point I have only had MFR1, and did not know what to do with Carpal tunnel syndrome. I knew the basics, which is to stretch the connective tissue (fascia) and let it release itself from its constrictive state to a normal pliable state. I figured that if I started on it, my intuitive side (or my guides) would lead me to what to do next, or that’s what I hoped. (In doing MFR, I have not been very intuitive, and have been wondering if it is for me. When I do the work, I end up putting out too much effort, and feel drained after one session.)
I started in by picking a direction and hand (or in this case finger) placements and held them for the required three to five minutes (fascia will not release in under 90 seconds). I felt guided to try several more things, and then added Reiki at the end. I repeated the process on the other hand. In total, I worked on her for about an hour.
When we were done, she could feel in her fingertips, and could feel a lot of tingling in her hands. I told her to let me know over the next couple of days how she was. What I did obviously made a difference. I just wasn’t sure if it was enough or not.