How Can You Connect Yoga and Carpal Tunnel

Carpal tunnel syndrome is something that plagues many heavy computer users. Writers, secretaries, clerks and accountants are particularly prone to this problem, and this is something that no one wants to catch when their entire job depends on their ability to use a computer.

However, if you use yoga as your healing and prevention technique, it can alleviate a whole slew of problems that develop over the years. Whether you have muscle paralysis, wrist pain, or even sleeping disorders, yoga helps you in more ways then one. It’s something that will become a necessity for you in upcoming months.

All that changed in 1998, when an empirical study was made to observe the effects of yoga exercises on carpal tunnel patients. Here is what happened, presented in such a way as to keep things simple and easy to understand:

The Premise

It was originally thought that yoga was considered to be one of those alternative medicine techniques that had sketchy benefits. This is why it was so important for case study professionals to test the effectiveness of yoga and figure out if it was truly helpful.

The first group were able to get metal splints, which were at the time; standard treatments in the industry. An easy way to look at it is these were the men and women that were to receive all the normal regimens, prescriptions, and surgeries for treating carpal tunnel syndrome.

Group B, on the other hand, would be the group that would undergo two yoga sessions a week for eight weeks. The carpal tunnel exercises using yoga focuses on the upper body and on gently stretching the joints involved.

For two months straight there was constant note taking and observations among the doctors. What they were looking for was concrete evidence that yoga would actually help you overcome pain and reduce the discomfort that was the epitome of dealing with carpal tunnel everyday.

The End Result

So who did they side with when the study was over? What they found was that the second group came back with a stronger grip, less pain, and less tingling, numbness or burning when the palms are pressed together.

With the results of this study, yoga can no longer be classified as one of the alternative techniques that ‘may’ help the problem. This concrete evidence of the efficacy of yoga exercises in alleviating the signs and symptoms of carpal tunnel disease makes yoga a medically-approved technique to help with the disease.

The Implications

As with any other study of its kind, further research will help solve the limitations of the first research. But even if there are empirical and statistical contentions with the methodology of the study, the fact remains that no negative signs or worsening conditions were observed.

The positive effect of carpal tunnel exercises using yoga is irrefutable, even if there are a few nitpicks to be found in the specifics of the study’s procedures. Less pain and a better grip are excellent indicators of yoga’s efficiency, and these two benefits alone are definitely good reasons to get some extra yoga lessons to help cope with the symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome.

How easily can you ease your carpal tunnel symptoms using yoga? Try standing up facing a wall. Reach your fingers up as far as you can, stretching your whole body up. Now slowly drag your fingers down as you inch your feet away from the wall, keeping your arms straight. Feel better yet? There are many simple positions you can learn to do to help alleviate the suffering associated with CTS. Follow this link to see more carpal tunnel exercises.