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Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS) is a disabling overuse hand injury that affects 1% of the US population, and according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics accounts for an average of 27 days lost annually.
Most people are inclined to think that when their hands and wrist become painful and numb, they have carpal tunnel syndrome. Now it’s true that CTS is caused when then the overly tight hand muscles compress the median nerve that runs through the narrow space in the wrist called the carpal tunnel. However, what if the actual compression started higher up, like in the shoulder or neck?
Carpal tunnel-like symptoms can be re-created from poor work ergonomics and postural distortions that impinge the nerve supply. This is called Multiple Crush Phenomenon, where overworked and shortened muscles in the neck, shoulder, elbow, forearm, wrist, and hand cause the vertebrae to misalign and entrap the nerves. This makes the muscles go weak, leading to tingling, numbness or pain. Scheduling a massage session can be helpful in determining which muscles are causing the nerve impingement.
Conventional Medicine suggests braces to relieve the pain and immobilize the hand and wrist. Sometimes the CST sufferers will get steroid injections right in the carpal tunnel to take the pressure off the median nerve and reduce inflammation. The effects can be temporary lasting weeks to months. Surgery is usually the last resort, but before you choose anything drastic, PLEASE consider the following 3 Self-Care Tips for Carpal Tunnel Relief.
3 Self-care Tips for Carpal Tunnel Relief
Tip #1 Carpal Tunnel Relief Massage
Just roll up your sleeve and extend your hand back, placing your pal on a flat surface like a table. It’s best to self-massage without a lubricant because you’ll able to engage the tissue as well.
Then take your opposite hand and grip the forearm with the thumb on the flexor side and fingers near the elbow. Slowly glide the thumbs down to the table and repeat 10 times.
Then make a fist and glide down the same part of the forearm until your fist touches the table, repeat 10 times.
Tip #2 Thera-Band Loop Wrist & Hand Exercises: These wrist and forearm strengthening exercises from TheraBand Academy are guaranteed to bring you carpal tunnel relief.
Tip #3 Yoga Hands for Carpal Tunnel Relief
Just pop these on to your hands and after 10 to 15 minutes, you’ll feel considerable pain relief from sore hands and carpal tunnel issues. Yoga Hands literally stretch your fingers apart and give your computer crunching hands a blissed-out break. You don’t have to sweat through a yoga class to get these kinds of pain-relieving results!
Now, if you’ve checked out these self-care tips and your wrists are still sore and you’re not able to without pain when you lift things, then I highly recommend you check out the E-Book, Fix My Wrist Pain. It will help you get rid of your wrist pain permanently so you can get back to doing the training you love.
