What is Carpal Tunnel Syndrome?
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is also popular as median nerve compression. It is a condition that develops tingling, numbness, and feebleness in your hand. CTS develops because of excessive pressure on the median nerve that runs through your arm and extends up to a passage in your wrist which is medically known as Carpal tunnel which ends in your hand. The median regulates the movement and sensation of your thumb and all fingers.
If you notice mild to moderate symptoms of Carpal tunnel syndrome, you’ll get some relief from a few simple therapeutic exercises. You’ll get optimum results if you do these exercises along with other treatments like using a brace and tweak activities so they provide less pressure on your wrist, especially on the median nerve.
Let’s talk about the exercises one by one
Fist to Stop Sign
- Make a fist
- Slide all fingers up that should be pointed towards the ceiling; that means upward direction. It should look like telling someone to stop
- Repeat this first 5-10 times
Fist to Fan
- First, Make a fist
- Stretch out all fingers which would look like a fan. Stretch them as much as possible
- Repeat 5-10 times
Basic Wrist Stretches
- Sit down at a chair in front of the table
- Rest your elbow and arm on the table, and hang your wrist from the edge of the table while the palm of your hand should face up
- Begin with your hand in a neutral and straight position
- Then gradually bend hand towards your so all fingers pointed towards the ceiling
- Hold this posture for 5 seconds
- Return to the neutral position which is straight
- Repeat it 10 times
- Do these three times a day.
Wrist Flex and Extend
- Hold both of your arms straight in front of you, keep your wrist and hand straight, the palm should be facing downward
- Bend your wrist down so all of your fingers pointed towards the floor
- Use another hand to enhance the stretch, gradually pull all of your fingers towards your body
- Hold this hand posture for 15-30 second
- Then return to a neutral position where your wrist must remain straight with palm facing down
- Bend your wrist up so all of your fingers point to the ceiling. Next, use other hands to gradually pull all fingers back in front of you
- Repeat it 10 times at a stretch
- Do these three times a day.
Wrist resistance
- Sit down at a table
- Fix your forearm, wrist, and hand on the table with your palm facing down. It is very effective for hands affected by carpal tunnel syndrome
- Then take out another hand across the knuckles at a perpendicular angle, both of your hands should make a plus sign
- Next lift up your bottom hand up and resist with the top one. You must feel stretch in muscles of your forearm
- Repeat this few times a day
Wrist Curl
- Sit or stand at a particular position
- Then hold 1-pound of weight
- With your elbows next to you, lift your lower arm so your arm makes an L-shape. Your lower arm should be corresponding to the floor.
- Begin with your wrist straight and unbiased, palm with the weight looking down.
- Next bend your wrist up
- The come at the neutral straight position
- Repeat this for 10 times
- Do these three times a day.
Hand Squeezes for Grip strength
- Squeeze a pair of balled-up socks or a soft rubber ball
- Hold it for 5 seconds
- Repeat it for 10 times at a stretch
- Do this up to three times a day
Tendon Gliding
In this hand workout, you’ve to move all of your fingers and hands through a series of multiple positions. So take your time and proceed gradually from scratch to
- Just start with your elbow bent, wrist straight, put all your fingers together and point them towards the ceiling. Your thumb should be in a relaxed state.
- Then Curl your finger inward, so they all can bend through the middle knuckles and all fingertips must touch the crown of your paStraighten your fingers and make an “ L” shape with your hand- Your thumb is still in a relaxed condition
- Then fold your fingers straight down so your fingertips touch the palm; You make a straight-fingered fist with your thumb, which must be tucked in and touch the index finger
- Next Curl your finger at normal fist
- Repeat it 10 times at a stretch
- Do these two times a day
Nerve Gliding
- Bend elbow and make a fist which faces you; wrist will be at neutral
- Your fingers should point up, wrist at neutral, thumb tucked in
- Bend your wrist to make all your fingertips away from you. The thumb should be close to your finger
- Hold that position, use other hands to gradually pull down; do this for few seconds
- Repeat it for three to five times at a stretch
- Do these two times a day.
Above mentioned exercises are without equipment. When you recover from CTS, increase your grip strength by using the best hand grip strengthener
