Carpal tunnel is not a fun injury to have, and it affects how you go about your day. Carpal tunnel stretches can help relieve some of the pain caused by the compression of the median nerve that passes through the hand. When the nerve is poorly compressed, it can make it difficult to move the thumb and pointer finger. Any swelling in the wrist an contribute to this numbing sensation known as carpal tunnel. You want it to go away, and we want to help you do that as quickly as possible
Symptoms of Carpal Tunnel
- Any numbness or tingling in your hand or fingers (except for the pinky)
- Burning sensation up the arm
- Being woken up at night because of wrist pain
Causes of Carpal Tunnel
Knowing the cause is important because it will help you figure out whether carpal tunnel stretches will help or not. The causes are from either health conditions or day to day overextension. Stretches are much better suited to assisting overextension of the wrist. Repeated motion and extension can create swelling that leads to a carpal tunnel.
Health Condition Causes
- Diabetes
- Thyroid dysfunction
- High blood pressure
- Rheumatoid Arthritis
- Fractured wrist
- Trauma to wrist
Overextension Causes
- Using a keyboard or mouse a lot
- Exposure to extreme vibrations from different hand tools
- Any periods that puts you in extension for an extended period
Should You Use Carpal Tunnel Braces?
Carpal tunnel braces are a short-term solution. If you have something that you need to get through pain-free than it may make sense to use one. Otherwise, you are going to want to focus on stretches or getting treatment. These solutions come with long-term benefits because they fix the real cause of the injury. A brace is just helping to keep the wrist out of dangerous positions.
The mistake people make is in getting a brace but not relieving any of the tension in the forearm or thumb that is contributing to the problem. Getting a good carpal tunnel brace combined with stretches and treatment will be your best play. Unless you plan to wear the brace all of the time. If you have no problem wearing it all of the time, then you can get around having to do anything else.
When to Ditch The Carpal Tunnel Stretches and Have Surgery
If you do the carpal tunnel stretches consistently, getting treatment from a healthcare provider, and make lifestyle changes and nothing changes you may want to consider surgery. Surgery should be avoided as much as possible because it is invasive. Many people get surgeries that they don’t need only because they do not explore all of the options. Once your body is cut into there is no going back.
Non-Surgical Options
- Stretching
- Avoid wrist extension at all costs
- Wrist splints and braces
- Pain medication
- Treatment of other health conditions
- Injections to reduce inflammation
Carpal Tunnel Stretches
Lying Chest Stretch
- Avoid wrist extension like pictured when doing this stretch with carpal tunnel
- Stretches the chest and shoulders
- The goal is to attack the entire arm line
Wrist Flexor Stretch
- Put palms of hands flat on the ground with fingers facing towards you
- To increase stretch lean body towards fingers
Wrist Extensor Stretch
- Put back of hands on the ground
- Be careful not to put too much pressure on your wrists as they can break easily in this position
- Flex fingers to increase the stretch
When to See a Professional For Your Wrist
If you feel doing things on your own is not working or you want to be healed as quickly as possible, you should see a sports medicine provider. They will be able to evaluate you and come up with an effective gameplan to get you healthy again.
Healthcare providers will be able to feel your entire arm and relieve spots with the most tension. The type of providers you can work with include the following:
- Physical Therapist
- Acupuncturists
- Chiropractor
- Registered Dietitian
- Sports Physician
- Massage Therapist
- Holistic Healthcare providers
How to Find The Best Providers Local to You?
9INE POINT Health is the best way to find local providers that can help you with your carpal tunnel issues and any other pain points. The reason is that 9INE POINT Health lets you search for healthcare providers based on the type of practitioner as well as a skill set. Let’s say you want to work with a physical therapist, but you also want someone who does the Graston Technique, you can find the best local option on 9INE POINT Health. You can then sift through the different options and compare 9INE POINT Numbers before making a choice.
KHO Health was acquired by was acquire by 9INE POINT in the summer of 2019 and is now referred to as 9INE POINT Health.
9INE POINT Health was created by 9INE POINT in '19 as a means to provide athlete-driven resources to "Protect Athletes' Minds, Body and Belly". As well as be a platform for healthcare providers and other specialists to display their knowledge.
