Three tips for carpal tunnel syndrome prevention

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Prevention Tips

You get off from work, and you feel pain or numbness in your wrist, thumb and fingers. This is a sign that you may have carpal tunnel syndrome. This condition is typically caused by repetitive wrist movements, and it comes from the compression of the median nerve that runs through the carpal tunnel and into the hand. However, there are things you can do to avoid this painful condition. Here are three helpful tips for carpal tunnel syndrome prevention: 

1.   Keep wrists straight

The median nerve typically gets pinched or irritated when you have poor wrist posture, so keeping your wrists straight can help prevent carpal tunnel syndrome. For example, some people sleep in ways that bend the wrist too much or put lots of pressure on it. To help with this problem, you might want to try wearing a wrist brace to bed. Also, it’s important to keep your wrist as straight as possible when you use hand tools frequently. This is a suggestion from which mechanics, carpenters and painters can benefit. 

2.   Take more breaks

Taking breaks is important when performing a task that requires repetitive wrist movements, and taking them at regular intervals can help with carpal tunnel syndrome prevention. Repetitive movements of the wrist causes the muscles that support it to get tired. When these muscles get tired, it’s harder to maintain proper wrist posture, and this can lead to carpal tunnel syndrome. Taking a break from repetitive motions allows the wrist muscles some time to rest, and you can even do some easy stretches to help them recover. 

3.   Grip objects less tightly

Having a firm grip is typically seen as a good thing. After all, you tend to drop fewer cups of coffee when you’re gripping it tightly. However, it’s easy to have too much of a good thing when it comes to gripping objects. In many cases, you could actually be gripping things much tighter than necessary, and this can put you at greater risk of carpal tunnel syndrome. 

For this reason, people should try to use only as much grip force as necessary, especially when performing repetitive tasks with the hands and wrists. By being conscious of how tightly you’re gripping objects, you could help prevent the development of carpal tunnel syndrome. 

Get carpal tunnel syndrome treatment at Excel Sports & Physical Therapy

Carpal tunnel syndrome prevention is the best way to treat this issue, but it may be too late for some people. If you already have carpal tunnel syndrome, Excel Sports & Physical Therapy can help you. We offer treatment plans that can be personalized to fit your specific symptoms, and these plans often include therapy methods such as: 

Are you ready to start effectively treating your carpal tunnel syndrome? Contact our team today for more information or to schedule an initial appointment.