Health Care

by Tom Janus

I decided to write an article about carpal tunnel syndrome and subsequent treatment of this condition because I myself began to develop it years ago, and after doing a bit of research on it was able to rid myself of the pain I felt. Also, I had some colleagues that developed similar wrist and hand pain, which most likely was carpal tunnel syndrome as well and I was able to give them some helpful information and exercises which worked for me to help relieve the pain. Being that I blog online and write articles as well I realized I could help more people by sharing the information that I have.

The sad part though was that some of the people that I knew that developed carpal tunnel syndrome had done so to a much greater degree than I had. I was able to 'nip it in the bud' so to speak as my hand and wrist pain was intermittent and since I worked in an office and typed a lot it hit me that I might be developing carpal tunnel since I heard this was a common complaint. Apparently, like most other medical conditions, the earlier you can begin to treat carpal tunnel the quicker the results and healing will be.

So even if you are in advanced stage of pain with carpal tunnel syndrome, I do not mean to alarm you, I am just saying it will most likely take longer to heal yourself than someone who is just starting to feel the symptoms that come with this condition. Strangely enough the medical community is still in the dark about what exactly causes carpal tunnel syndrome, and there is a lot of debate over the exact cause. This fact itself causes people who have carpal tunnel syndrome to have a difficult time getting a proper diagnosis.

Various theories on the actual cause of this debilitating condition range from trauma, genetics, hypothyroidism, rheumatoid arthritis to repetitive motion at work. So although there is no exact agreed upon cause, what you should do first if you think you may have it is know what it is and what are the symptoms. The medical community defines carpal tunnel syndrome as the impairment of motor and/or sensory function of the median nerve as it traverses through the carpal tunnel. Some of the common symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome include:

• Hand and wrist pain resulting as an effect of repetitive movements.

• Tingling, burning sensations in your hands or even the feeling of numbness.

• Weak hand strength, the result of which can be dropping objects often.

• Waking up at night with your hands curled up and stiff.

• Clumsiness and difficulty relating to picking up simple objects and doing simple tasks.

As I stated earlier, I began experiencing some of the common symptoms attributed to carpal tunnel syndrome, most of which was the tingling, burning and numb sensations in my hands, especially in my right hand. This alarmed me to say the least so I looked into it to see what it could be and what I could do about it. I decided that getting cortisone injections or taking anti-inflammatories (which some doctors recommend) was out of the question. I eventually discovered some great carpal tunnel exercises over time which helped me dramatically.

One useful carpal tunnel exercise is taking a sheet of newspaper flat in your hand and gradually crumbling it up into a small ball as tight as you can and squeezing it hard for about 5 second and then releasing opening your hand up wide. Perform this exercise over and over again for both hands. You can do reps of 8-12.

I also found that stretching the tendons and muscles in your hands and wrists can have a powerful preventative and healing effect as well. There are various stretching exercises you can do, one thing to keep in mind is that holding various stretches for extended periods of time while breathing deeply increases effectiveness of the exercise. This goes for both assisted hand/arm exercises and isometric carpal tunnel exercises.

One great exercise for carpal tunnel is holding your arms out straight in front of you (elbows almost locked) with your palms facing outwards/away from you, fingers splayed as much as possible. Breathe deeply while holding this position. You can repeat this position with arms out to the sides (palms facing away), above you (palms facing the sky), and finally down (palms facing the ground). You can do this standing or sitting moving smoothly from one posture to the next while breathing deeply. After a while holding these postures you should feel the energy in your hands and possibly heat even moving to your palms.

Another effective stretching carpal tunnel exercise is placing one of hand against a wall with fingers facing the ground and then grabbing your thumb to stretch it out even further with your other hand. You can hold this stretch for 15 to 30 seconds, gradually building up. Follow this stretch with this one: bring all of your fingers to a point (like a bird's beak) with your arm outstretched and hold this hand posture. You can even grab your hand in beak position with your other hand and press inward to increase the pressure. After doing this with both hands shake them out for a few seconds.

You should always stretch out both arms and hands even though only one side may be giving you problems. One last carpal tunnel exercise which I will mention here that helped me a lot and I enjoy doing because it's actually fun and very therapeutic is moving Chinese health balls (also known as baoding balls, therapy balls or exercise balls) clockwise and counter clockwise in your hand. I recommend the solid chrome steel balls as they give your hands and forearms more of a workout and a faster healing effect.

These Chinese health balls are said to stimulate the energy (or chi) your hands and body, and so the positive effect they have as a carpal tunnel exercise is pretty dramatic. It takes some practice to do well, but as I said it's fun and you can practice anywhere you go. I used to bring them to work with me, and still do on occasion when I am going to a friend's house or wherever. They are not very expensive and you will use them for the rest of your life. You will feel the difference in your hands and forearms after you play with them for a few minutes. One last tip is to do these exercises/stretches everyday consistently and you will notice positive changes with your carpal tunnel condition.

About the Author

Tom Janus is a contributing editor for Attuned Health. Discover how to eliminate carpal tunnel pain completely with this recommended step by step system.