Your Health In Mind with Michael Storm and Dr. Dean Lloyd, October 14, 2026 Hour 1

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Show for 10-14-26 “Carpal Tunnel and Kim Chi, Sauerkraut etc..Fermented foods”

Carpal tunnel syndrome: 

It causes numbness, tingling, weakness, and pain in the hand and wrist due to pressure on the median nerve (The three main nerves that run through the wrist to the hand are the median nerve, the ulnar nerve, and the radial nerve). 

Common Symptoms  • Numbness and Tingling: A “pins and needles” feeling usually affects the thumb, index, middle, and ring fingers (but not the pinky finger). • Nighttime Discomfort: Symptoms often start or worsen at night, frequently waking people up and leading them to “shake out” their hands for relief. • Shock-Like Sensations: Brief, electric shock-like jolts may radiate into the affected fingers. • Traveling Pain: Aching or shooting pain can travel from the wrist up into the forearm and arm. • Hand Weakness: Reduced grip strength can make it hard to hold items, leading to dropping objects or trouble with fine motor tasks like buttoning a shirt.

Causes

Symptoms and Causes What are the signs and symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome? The most common carpal tunnel symptoms include:  Numbness in your wrist, hand or fingers (especially your fingertips) Pain in your wrist, hand or fingers Tingling Trouble using your hands to hold or control objects (like holding your phone, gripping the steering wheel, holding a pen or typing on a keyboard, for example) 

Carpal tunnel syndrome usually develops slowly. You might only experience minor symptoms at first that may get worse over time.  People usually first notice symptoms at night — pain or tingling may wake you up. Over time, the symptoms may start affecting you during the day, especially if you do the same kind of motion a lot at work like typing, writing or using tools.  What does carpal tunnel syndrome feel like? 

Carpal tunnel syndrome can make your wrists, hands and fingers feel uncomfortable. It may feel like pinpricks or like your fingers or hands “fell asleep.” You may also feel numbness that makes you want to shake your hands like you’re flinging water off them.  Carpal tunnel syndrome pain usually feels like it’s coming from inside your hand or wrist — not a skin-level pain like a cut. The pain may feel like a sharp, burning stab or a constant ache.  Some people with carpal tunnel syndrome feel like their hands and grip are weaker than normal. It might feel like you can’t get a solid hold on a mug or pen, even if you’re concentrating on it.  Your hands and fingers may feel clumsy or less able to perform precise motions, like buttoning a shirt or aiming a key into a lock. 

 Extra pressure on your median nerve causes carpal tunnel syndrome. The carpal tunnel has space for all the parts that pass through it, but if one part of your wrist is swollen or damaged, it can press on other tissue around it, including your median nerve.  

Anything that causes swelling or irritation in your wrist can cause carpal tunnel syndrome:  Repetitive strain injuries Arthritis Sprains Wrist fractures (broken wrist bones) Ganglion cysts What are the risk factors? Anyone can develop carpal tunnel syndrome, but some people are more likely to, including:  People who do repetitive motions with their hands and wrists for work (swinging a hammer, for example) People who use power tools that vibrate (like drills or jackhammers) Pregnant women Women Adults over the age of 40 People whose biological relatives have carpal tunnel syndrome (it can be hereditary, or passed through generations in families) Having certain health conditions can increase your carpal tunnel syndrome risk, including:  Rheumatoid arthritis Gout Hypothyroidism Diabetes Obesity Amyloidosis What are the complications? If a healthcare provider doesn’t diagnose and treat carpal tunnel syndrome as soon as possible, the irritation in your wrist can cause permanent damage. Specifically, the extra pressure can damage your median nerve, which may make it hard or impossible to feel, move or use your hand.  Visit a healthcare provider as soon as you notice carpal tunnel symptoms or any changes in how you can feel or use your hand and wrist.

Treatment

 Treatment Options  • Nonsurgical care: Wearing a wrist splint (especially at night) to keep the wrist straight, making ergonomic adjustments, taking anti-inflammatory medications (NSAIDs), or receiving corticosteroid injections.

 • Surgical care: A minor procedure called carpal tunnel release (open or endoscopic) to cut the transverse carpal ligament and relieve pressure on the nerve if conservative methods fail.

Non-Surgical

Acupuncture

Mild-to-moderate carpal tunnel syndrome can often be managed and relieved without surgery through targeted lifestyle changes, splinting, and exercises.  Wrist Splinting  • Wear a brace at night: Put on a snug wrist splint while sleeping to keep your wrist in a neutral position. This prevents you from bending your wrist and reduces pressure on the median nerve. • Avoid daytime bending: Try to keep your wrist straight during daily tasks like driving or typing.  Ergonomics and Lifestyle Changes  • Adjust your workspace: Position your keyboard and mouse so your wrists stay flat and neutral, and use a padded wrist rest. • Take frequent breaks: Step away from repetitive hand or typing motions every 30 to 60 minutes to stretch and rest your hands. • Manage underlying factors: Lower overall inflammation by losing weight if needed, quitting smoking, or managing conditions like diabetes.  At-Home Exercises and Glides  • Tendon glides: Gently move your fingers from a straight hand to a hook fist, then a full fist, to help tendons slide smoothly through the narrow tunnel. • Nerve glides: Extend your arm to the side with your palm up, then tilt your wrist and head gently to stretch the median nerve without causing sharp pain. • Gentle stretching: Flex and extend your wrist slowly within a comfortable, pain-free range of motion for 1 to 2 minutes.  Ice, Heat, and Pain Relief  • Cold packs: Apply an ice pack wrapped in a towel to the base of your palm for 10 to 15 minutes to numb pain and bring down swelling. • Over-the-counter medicine: Use short-term NSAIDs like ibuprofen or naproxen sodium to ease acute discomfort, though they do not cure the underlying compression. • Medical procedures: A doctor can provide a targeted cortisone injection into the carpal tunnel to reduce severe swelling.

Mild-to-moderate carpal tunnel syndrome can often be managed and relieved without surgery through targeted lifestyle changes, splinting, and exercises.  Wrist Splinting  • Wear a brace at night: Put on a snug wrist splint while sleeping to keep your wrist in a neutral position. This prevents you from bending your wrist and reduces pressure on the median nerve. • Avoid daytime bending: Try to keep your wrist straight during daily tasks like driving or typing.  Ergonomics and Lifestyle Changes  • Adjust your workspace: Position your keyboard and mouse so your wrists stay flat and neutral, and use a padded wrist rest. • Take frequent breaks: Step away from repetitive hand or typing motions every 30 to 60 minutes to stretch and rest your hands. • Manage underlying factors: Lower overall inflammation by losing weight if needed, quitting smoking, or managing conditions like diabetes.  At-Home Exercises and Glides  • Tendon glides: Gently move your fingers from a straight hand to a hook fist, then a full fist, to help tendons slide smoothly through the narrow tunnel. • Nerve glides: Extend your arm to the side with your palm up, then tilt your wrist and head gently to stretch the median nerve without causing sharp pain. • Gentle stretching: Flex and extend your wrist slowly within a comfortable, pain-free range of motion for 1 to 2 minutes.  Ice, Heat, and Pain Relief  • Cold packs: Apply an ice pack wrapped in a towel to the base of your palm for 10 to 15 minutes to numb pain and bring down swelling. • Over-the-counter medicine: Use short-term NSAIDs like ibuprofen or naproxen sodium to ease acute discomfort, though they do not cure the underlying compression. • Medical procedures: A doctor can provide a targeted cortisone injection into the carpal tunnel to reduce severe swelling

Keyboard and carpal tunnel

Ergonomic keyboards help reduce strain on the median nerve and prevent wrist bending (ulnar deviation) by positioning your hands more naturally.  Key Features to Look For  • Split or Curved Layout: Separates the key clusters so your wrists stay straight instead of angling outward. • Negative Tilt: Angles the back of the keyboard lower than the front to keep your wrists from bending upward. • Tenting: Lifts the inner edge of a split keyboard so your forearms rest in a natural, handshake-like posture. • Cushioned Wrist Rest: Supports your palms between typing bursts rather than having your wrists pressed down while actively typing.  

Popular Ergonomic Keyboard Options  • Logitech Wave Keys: A budget-friendly curved wireless keyboard featuring a pillowed memory foam palm rest (around $70). • Logitech Ergo K860: A popular curved split-frame wireless keyboard with a pillowed wrist support. • X-Bows Nature: An ergonomic mechanical keyboard with an ortholinear, splayed layout designed to align with your natural finger motion (around $149). • RVP+ Split Ergonomic Keyboard: An affordable split wireless option with a magnetic wrist rest and adjustable tilt legs (around $35). • Kinesis Freestyle / Advantage Series: High-adjustability split and contoured keyboards often recommended for chronic repetitive strain injuries.

Snowboarders frequently experience wrist injuries—often called “snowboarder’s wrist”—from falling on an outstretched hand, which can mimic or lead to acute nerve irritation like carpal tunnel syndrome.  

Why Snowboarders Get Wrist and Nerve Pain  • The FOOSH Reflex: When falling, the instinct is to brace with an outstretched hand (Fall on Outstretched Hand), putting massive pressure on the small bones, ligaments, and median nerve in the wrist. • Impact & Swelling: Sudden heavy impacts can cause scaphoid fractures, ligament tears (like the TFCC or scapholunate ligament), or deep bruising and hematomas that compress the median nerve inside the carpal tunnel. • Overuse & Repetitive Strain: Constantly gripping the board, making edge adjustments, or riding stiff terrain puts cumulative stress on the forearm and wrist tendons.  

Common Symptoms  • Numbness, tingling, or a “pins and needles” sensation in the thumb, index, and middle fingers. • Waking up at night with hand numbness or a need to shake the hand out. • Sharp or dull wrist pain, weakness in grip strength, or localized swelling after a fall.  Prevention and Care  • Wear Wrist Guards: Use snowboarding-specific wrist guards beneath your gloves or gloves with built-in rigid splints to distribute impact force. • Learn Safe Falling Techniques: Try to fall onto your forearms or roll rather than slamming stiff, outstretched palms directly onto hard snow or ice.

With a little help from AI

Fermented kimchi is a nutrient-dense traditional Korean dish packed with live probiotics, dietary fiber, vitamins, and active compounds that support digestion and overall wellness.  

Main Health Benefits  • 

Supports Gut Health: 

Rich in Lactobacillus and other lactic acid bacteria, kimchi adds friendly microbes to your digestive tract, increases microbial diversity, and helps ease conditions like irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). • Boosts Immune Function: Probiotics and high amounts of vitamin C in kimchi help strengthen immune cell communication and defend against harmful pathogens. • Reduces Inflammation: Active compounds like HDMPPA found in kimchi help fight chronic inflammation linked to metabolic syndrome and gut issues. • Promotes Heart Health: Regular consumption may help manage cholesterol levels, improve fasting blood sugar, and prevent the narrowing of arteries. • Aids Weight Management: Low in calories (about 23 calories per cup) and high in fiber, kimchi helps increase satiety and supports a healthy gut microbiome associated with lower obesity risk. • Supplies Key Nutrients: It provides a rich source of vitamins A, B6, C, and K, plus iron, calcium, and potassium.  Things to Keep in Mind  • Sodium Content: Kimchi is naturally high in sodium, which should be monitored if you have high blood pressure.  

Live vs. Pasteurized: 

To get the probiotic benefits, look for unpasteurized, refrigerated products that contain live active cultures (rather than shelf-stable or vinegar-based pickles) as outlined by the American Medical Association

Fermented sauerkraut is good for you because it is packed with probiotics, fiber, and essential nutrients like vitamins C and K2, which protect intestinal cells and support digestion.  

Key Health Benefits  • Improves Digestion: Live probiotic bacteria support a healthy gut microbiome, while natural enzymes help break down food and nutrients for easier absorption. • 

Protects Gut Integrity: Research from UC Davis shows that fermented sauerkraut protects intestinal cells from inflammation-related damage better than raw cabbage or brine alone. • Boosts Immune Health: A large portion of the immune system lives in the gut; the probiotics, vitamin C, and iron in sauerkraut help block harmful bacteria and support antibody production. • 

Supports Bone and Heart Health: It is a strong vegetarian source of vitamin K2, which activates proteins that direct calcium into bones rather than arteries. • 

Aids Weight Management: With only about 27 calories per cup and high fiber content, it helps you feel full while adding low-calorie bulk to meals.  How to Choose the Right Sauerkraut  • Go Raw and Refrigerated: Look for unpasteurized, live-culture sauerkraut in the refrigerated section. Shelf-stable or canned varieties are usually heat-treated or made with vinegar, which destroys the beneficial live microbes. • 

Check the Ingredients: True lacto-fermented sauerkraut should only list cabbage and salt (no vinegar, sugar, or artificial preservatives). • Watch the Sodium: Fermentation requires salt, so it can be high in sodium; keep this in mind if you have high blood pressure or kidney disease.

Making sauerkraut

 Ingredients and Tools  • Cabbage: 1 medium head (about 2 pounds or 1,000 grams) of green or red cabbage. • Salt: 20 grams (about 1 heaping tablespoon or 2% of the cabbage’s total weight) of kosher or sea salt. • Optional Add-ins: 1 teaspoon of caraway seeds, mustard seeds, or grated carrots. • 

Equipment: A clean glass mason jar, a smaller jar or fermentation weight to keep things submerged, and a lid.  

Step-by-Step Instructions  • Prep the cabbage: Remove the outer leaves (save one whole leaf) and cut out the tough core. Slice the rest of the cabbage into very thin shreds. • Weigh and salt: Weigh your shredded cabbage in grams and multiply by 0.02 to get your exact salt amount in grams (roughly 20g of salt per 1,000g of cabbage). Place the cabbage in a large bowl and sprinkle the salt over it. • Massage the mix: Use your hands to firmly squeeze and massage the salt into the cabbage for 5 to 10 minutes until it breaks down and releases a pool of liquid juice. Mix in any optional seeds or spices now. • Pack the jar: Transfer the cabbage and all its liquid into your clean glass jar. Press down firmly with your fist or a tamper so the juices rise up and completely submerge the cabbage. • Weigh it down: Fold or cut your saved whole cabbage leaf to fit on top of the shredded mix, then place a small fermentation weight or a tiny clean jar on top to keep the solids under the brine. Leave an inch of empty space at the top of the jar. • Ferment: Seal the jar loosely or use an airlock lid. Keep it at room temperature (65–72°F) out of direct sunlight for 1 to 3 weeks. If using a standard lid, open (“burp”) it once daily to release built-up gas. • Store: Taste the sauerkraut after 1 week. When it reaches your preferred sourness, screw the lid on tight and move it to the refrigerator to slow down fermentation, where it keeps for several months.

Hummmmmmmin

       ! Dean !