Unique Exercises ‘Cure’ Carpal Tunnel Pain

Millions of Americans work at a keyboard all day, and the number of repetitive stress injuries are on the rise. They used to be confined to garment industry workers, but are now prevalent in all walks of life, and is called carpal tunnel syndrome. Exercises can prevent it from worsening and can even reduce its effects.

Squeeze The Stress Out

A lot of companies make stress balls – printed with logos, globes, or something else, they’re designed to let you squish them and work some stress out of your hands and forearms. Lots of people find them therapeutic, and they come in a variety of shapes and sizes. (Other useful variants include the “grip exercisers” that rock climbers use)

Simply make a pattern of squeezing the ball without stopping – squeeze and hold it for five seconds, then release. Repeat as needed, it’ll be about 15 reps at a time for most people. Ultimately, what this does is strengthen your wrists. As your wrist muscles get stronger, they protect the sheathes that the tendons go through that cause carpal tunnel syndrome.

The Motorcycle Arm Wrest Grab.

If you’re doing a lot of typing, invest in chair with arm wrests, and put pads in front of your keyboard and especially your mouse. This will keep your wrists elevated when typing, and will avoid the biggest cause of carpal tunnel syndrome, the “wrists cocked all the way back” extension. Plus, it’s also a lot more comfortable for extended typing. Every hour or so, pick up the wrist wrest and squeeze it, like you’re turning the throttle on the motor cycle – this flexes the wrist and helps cut down on the tension and pain.

The Starfish Stretch

Imagine you’re palming a basketball – you want to have your hand outstretched, and extend your fingers to their maximum span. Extend your thumb as well – if it helps, imagine that you’re trying to stretch your fingers far enough back that you could touch the tip of your pinky with your thumb. You want to feel the stretch across the meat of your palms. Hold it for a few breaths. Then squeeze your fingers in. This will keep your hands flexible.

Other Healthy Habits

While you can do various carpal tunnel exercises throughout the day, there are other things you should do. It’s recommended that you drink plenty of water, sit with your posture correctly, and stretch your neck muscles here and there (this doesn’t mean crack your neck). All the little things will help you to prevent carpal tunnel and other physical issues down the road.

Doing these stretching exercises are good for you – other things are good as well. At least every forty minutes, roll your head around and look at things at different distances; this prevents eye strain and lets your neck unkink. Roll your head around and arch your back both forward and back. There are other carpel tunnel exercises we can teach, but this is a good starting point. After a week or so of this, you’ll notice that some things twinge less often when you do a long day of typing, and you’ll remain relaxed for a longer stretch of time.

Discover what so many people already know and learned from Tom Nicholson: sought after carpal tunnel exercises that miraculously ease the pain of carpal tunnel syndrome. Click here to get your own look at hiscarpal tunnel exercises.