People of all ages can suffer from carpal tunnel syndrome however, it’s more prevalent in people that are over 50 years old.
Carpal tunnel syndrome is a condition that involves the irritation of the median nerve in the wrist that causes pain, pins and needles and numbness in the thumb and the 2nd and 3rd finger.
This condition is worse at night when your blood pressure drops and less blood flow travels to the nerve.
Here are some exercises that you can do that will help to relieve the pain that is associated with carpal tunnel syndrome.
1. Shake it out
At night or when you experience these symptoms, gently shaking the hand and moving the fingers will warm the area up and can help to relieve the pain.
2. Prayer stretch
Bring your palms together, and keeping them together, gently move both hands down away from your chin. Hold for a moment and then bring your hands back up towards your chin. Repeat this exercise 10 times.
3. Strengthening (with a theraband or weights)
Strengthening your wrist and forearms, increases the conditioning of these areas so that they can tolerate forces. This means that you’ll be able to do more everyday tasks with less aggravation of symptoms. You can use a theraband to strengthen your wrist and forearm, by keeping tension on the band, without moving the band. After a couple of weeks of continuously doing this exercise, you can progress to moving your wrist up and down throughout its full movement.
4. Nerve glides
These are best taught under guidance from your Physio. To begin this exercise, hold your arm outstretched to the side, palm up with fingers pointing down. Next tilt your neck to the opposite side whilst pointing your fingers up. This mobilises the nerve back and forth without increasing the tension on it.
These exercises are a general guide to relieving the pain that’s associated with Carpal Tunnel and may or may not be suitable for you depending on the stage of your condition. The best way to relieve the symptoms that are associated with Carpal Tunnel is to make an appointment to see your Physio. They can develop an exercise program for you that’s tailored to the specific symptoms that you may be suffering from.
This blog was written by Adrian Potter.
