Carpal Tunnel Home Remedies — Part 1

For most patients, the key to beating carpal tunnel syndrome is prevention. Making changes before this becomes a problem will help it to stay away. If you’re already experiencing some minor tingling, numbness, and burning that is associated with this problem, you may be able to prevent further damage and promote healing by making a few simple changes to your lifestyle.

Our carpal tunnel home remedies will help you keep your hands and wrists healthy, as well has help reduce carpal tunnel syndrome symptoms. However, if your symptoms are sever (like if they interfere with your everyday activities), and they don’t resolve after 2 weeks of self care, contact your doctor immediately.

Check out our carpal tunnel home remedies below:

Stay in shape

You’ll be less likely to suffer from injuries if your body has proper circulation and works well. Help your body out by eating nutritiously, getting adequate sleep and rest, and exercising regularly. It is also important to be sure to avoid smoking, which may inhibit circulation to the rest of your body, including wrists and hands.

Don’t make it worse while you sleep

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome symptoms may often come on while you’re asleep, and will wake you up. Some doctors believe this is because the fluid in the body is redistributed when you lie down, so more of it accumulates in your wrist, causing excess pain. Another contributing factor may be your sleeping position. If you sleep with your wrist bent or tucked under your pillow or head, this can cause compression of the median nerve. When you settle down for the night, allow your wrist or hand to lie flat on your  mattress. You may also want to ask your doctor about a splint to wear while you’re sleeping.

Take some weight off

Excess weight can compress the median nerve in the wrist, so try to keep your weight within five to ten pounds of your ideal weight. Do this by eating smartly and healthily, and getting plenty of exercise each day. If you’re unsure of how to do this, consult a doctor or a registered dietitian.

Take little breaks

Fatigue or tiredness in the joints or muscles is actually a warning sign to change your posture and/or pattern of movement. When your hand, wrist, or fingers feel fatigued or achy, take a break! Shake out your hands, and if possible, get up and walk around or at least stretch out your arms and adjust your position. Even a one- to two-minute break every 20 or thirty minutes helps, as does a longer break of about 10 to 15 minutes every hour or two.

If you believe you have carpal tunnel syndrome, try these at home remedies first. You  may find that your symptoms gradually decrease with time if you do this. However, if your symptoms have persisted and you have severe pain or problems, talk to your doctor today. Our offices offer an endoscopic carpal tunnel release procedure that may help you to stop experiencing symptoms. Talk to our offices contact Reynolds Cosmetics today at 702.410.9800 to schedule your consultation.

Understanding Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

If your job or hobby requires you to spend a lot of time punching cash register keys, gripping strings or holes on a musical instrument, clicking a mouse, or doing any other repetitive, forceful movement with your hands, you may be at risk for a painful condition known as carpal tunnel syndrome. The same appears to be true if you use your hands to control a jackhammer or other powerful, vibrating tool. Finding out about the symptoms and some home remedies for carpal tunnel may be the best way to understand them and take care of them. First, let’s talk about the symptoms.

What are the symptoms of carpal tunnel?

Carpal tunnel syndrome is a collection of symptoms that generally includes episodes of numbness, tingling, or “pins and needles” sensation, aching and burning in the thumb, index and middle fingers, and thumb side of the ring finger. Early on, these symptoms tend to appear in the night, or shortly after a period of repetitive motion, and shaking out the hand may bring relief. As the condition worsens, the discomfort occurs more frequently and becomes more bothersome. In some sever cases, pain may shoot from the wrist up the forearm and maybe even into the shoulder. The numbness in the fingers and thumb may become constant, and the thumb muscles may waste away. This can cause a loss of grip strength and coordination.

Why does this occur?

It is wise to look inside the wrist to understand how this works. The carpal tunnel is a narrow passageway that runs through the wrist. It is only about the size of a postage stamp, but it is crowded with nerves, blood vessels, and nine different tendons (packed in like strands of spaghetti) that control finger movements. Repetitive motions or certain medical conditions can cause these tendons to swell up, which decreases blood flow and compresses the median nerve. This controls movement and sensation in your thumb, middle, and index fingers, as well as one side of the ring finger. This is what causes episodes of numbness, tingling, and burning of the carpel tunnel syndrome. If it is left unchecked, muscle wasting and permanent damage can result.

The most common cause to carpal tunnel syndrome is repetitive, forceful movements of the hand, especially if the wrist or hand is bent in an awkward position, such as in piano playing or typing. This is a difficult condition to endure.

Carpal tunnel syndrome is very common in the United States today, and there are many things that can be done to take care of the symptoms. This week, we will have an ongoing series about how best to take care of these carpal tunnel symptoms. If you have any questions or problems with carpal tunnel, contact our offices. We can help you with our new endoscopic carpal tunnel release procedure, and your wrist will be feeling better in no time. Come back tomorrow for more tips!

Click here to read an article Dr. Reynolds had published in the local LVAC magazine about carpal tunnel syndrome (See page 26).