Carpal Tunnel treatment can ease pain

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is one of the leading causes of lost work and lost productivity at the office, and is a booming specialty when it comes to physical therapy. As the number of professionals who have to spend their entire day working at a keyboard increases, this boom in physical therapy cases is sadly unexpected. Keeping yourself out of the tender mercies of a physical therapist is a good way to save money, and we’re going to show you how.

Start by cutting back on the routine tasks that go hand in hand with carpal tunnel syndrome. If possible, avoid using that hand for anything, save when absolutely necessary; and this should last for at least a few days, and a week or more is strongly recommended. The aim is to release the pressure on swollen tendon sheathes, which are the root cause of the problem. If your dominant hand is the one with the wounded wrist, this can be something of a challenge.

For people who get carpal tunnel syndrome from keyboarding, there are a number of ergonomic changes you can make to your workspace. First, switch from a mouse to a trackball. More physical rehabilitation costs are incurred from using mice than any other piece of office equipment, starting from swollen bursa sacks in the elbow to tendonitis in the shoulder to carpal tunnel syndrome on the wrist. Other things to do include making your keyboard sit at the same height as the arm rests on your chairs, so that your elbows are at the same height as your wrist when you type. Ergonomic keyboards are also wrist savers, as are wrist pads at the base of the keyboard.

After you’ve taken time to heal, and have gotten back to work, pace yourself. Talk to your manager, and make sure you take a 10 minute break for every hour you spend on the keyboard. On your break, walk around, and stretch your shoulders. Rotate your wrist, and stretch it out. The aim is to keep you from reinjuring the wrist from overuse. Whenever you get a chance, massage your wrist and hand, especially the tendons on the back of the hand, and the back of the wrist, to get blood circulating through them again.

Other things you can do include wearing a splint or brace when you sleep, or sleeping with your hand draped off the edge of the bed. You want to prevent wrist movements that could trigger more irritation and inflammation. Try this immobilization routine for a week or so and see if it gives your wrists time to recovery. Other things you might consider doing, in addition to stretching exercises, are regular heating and icing of the wrist to keep it limber.

These work-related preventive measures work well for some people, but there are other things that you can try. Specially developed CTS exercises are non-invasive and drug free. They don’t involve immobilization. They are designed to be used to strengthen the hand and wrist so that CTS symptoms fade away and future possibilities of getting carpal tunnel syndrome are prevented. It is likely that these will be even more effective for you.

Tom Nicholson has been helping those who suffer from Carpal Tunnel Syndrome find easy, effective methods of treatment for years. Let him show you some basic carpal tunnel exercises that can ease your uncomfortable symptoms. Learn what so many people have already learned – treatment doesn’t have to be invasive or costly to work!