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Carpal Tunnel Remedy Exercise

Carpal tunnel syndrome is a painful and debilitating condition that affects the wrists and hands. The median nerve, along with several tendons, passes through the carpal tunnel, a thin space in the wrist. If an injury occurs to the wrist or tendons, it can compress the nerve, causing pain, numbness and loss of strength in the hand. Carpal tunnel exercises can help relieve the syndrome, but they should not be used alone. A person suffering from carpal tunnel syndrome should also consider getting a wrist brace and reduce activities that irritate the nerve.

  1. Tendon Gliding

    • Start with your hand straight out and your wrists in a neutral, level position. Gently touch the top of the palm with your fingers to make a hook fist. Then, straighten your hand. Next, touch the middle of the palm to make a full fist. Straighten your fingers again. Next, touch the lower palm to make a straight fist and straighten your fingers again. Finally, perform the thumb flexion exercise. Stick your thumb out as far as you can. Then, move it under your palm to try to touch your pinky finger at the base. Hold each position for seven seconds and repeat each exercise 10 times. Do this between three and five times a day. Keep in mind, there are many different variations of this exercise.

    Median Nerve Gliding

    • Start with your wrist straight forward and your hand in a fist so that the palm is facing downward. Extend your fingers and thumb straight forward so they are touching each other. Extended your wrist and let your thumb drift down slightly into a neutral position. Then, extend your thumb straight out to the side with your palm still facing down. Turn your palm face up and bend your thumb outward by gently pulling it with your other hand.
      As with the exercise above, you should hold each position for seven seconds and repeat the whole sequence between three and five times a day. With this exercise, however, you should only do five repetitions.

    Other Exercises

    • Stretching the neck and shoulders helps relieve your carpal tunnel symptoms. You can stretch your neck by pushing down on your right shoulder with your left hand, and tipping your head to the left. Then, repeat the exercise on the other side. Shoulder rotations can also help carpal tunnel. Stand with your feet straight and slightly apart, and rotate your shoulders forward and up until they squeeze against your neck. Then, rotate them back and down to complete a circle. Do this several times, then reverse the direction and do several more.

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