Carpal Tunnel Pain Relief Now

Carpal Tunnel Pain Can Be Caused By Small Muscle Strains

Do you have carpal tunnel symptoms that seem to come on without you doing anything to cause them?

Sometimes that is the problem, exactly.  You aren't doing anything.  Muscles are designed to be used in specific ways.  They feel good when they are being used properly.  Then they don't cause pain syndromes for us, like carpal tunnel.  (A syndrome is a collection of symptoms.)

If the cause of your carpal tunnel syndrome is crabby muscles that need more movement, that's pretty easy to correct.  Practice moving your arms, shoulders and hands in a variety of movements. 

Move and stretch up and over and back.

And strengthen your back, too.  A strong back will hold you into better posture.  Better posture means less likelihood of carpal tunnel symptoms.

Sometimes the cause of carpal tunnel pain is small muscle strains.

We create these small strains without even thinking about them. 

For instance, every now and then, I realize that my forearms (lower arms) are beginning to have a dull achy feeling.  And, each time, I try to figure out what I might be doing to cause this aching.

It's always the same thing.

Who knows why, but I sometimes stretch my arms so my hands sit out toward my knees (when I am sitting.)  This creates enough muscle strain in my neck and arms to cause these carpal tunnel type symptoms.

Each time I recognize what I am doing, I stop doing it.  I move my hands back closer to my body, and that takes care of that.  It doesn't go away immediately, but after a short while, it's better.

Sometimes, the simplest things can cause carpal tunnel pain or discomfort.

Sometimes, the "cure" really is that easy; just a change of position.

Think about when your carpal tunnel discomfort comes on.  What are

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Can Be Helped By Brief Movement

Carpal tunnel syndrome often has the same starting point as other repetitive stress injuries.

And, if you are tired of your carpal tunnel discomfort, there is hope for you.  There are simple movements to relieve your carpal tunnel issue.

What about all of the time it takes to do these "simple, easy movements?"

Even if you are worried about following lots of daily stretches and exercises, there is hope for you.

Releasing your carpal tunnel pain and discomfort will take some effort and time, that is true.

But, you are the one having the carpal tunnel syndrome, and so you are the one who has to take care of it.  You have to be your own best physician.

Even though you might use the positions which cause your carpal tunnel discomfort for several hours a day, just a little bit of effort will help you relieve your carpal tunnel pain.

Helping your muscles get back into balance is our goal.  Movement will accomplish that and will get you out of carpal tunnel pain.

How much effort and time will it take?

A good starting point might be 10 minutes

Wave Goodbye to Your Carpal Tunnel Pain

How does carpal tunnel pain and discomfort happen?

We often use our arms and hands and body in the same way all day.  Some of the muscles get overused, and they began to complain. This is how carpal tunnel syndrome begins.

You can start to lessen your carpal tunnel pain by doing some of the suggestions listed below.  As you do each one, do it in a thoughtful manner.  Feel what is occurring.  Observe your body.

1.  Sit in a different position than the one you usually use.  If you always cross one leg over the other try switching.

2.  Do the opposite movement of any movement that you do regularly.  If you generally bend your wrists in one direction, try stretching them in the other direction. 

3.  Lift your elbows behind you, and swing your lower arms back into a straight line with your upper arms.  Keep your head over your shoulders when you do this. 

4.  Get into a swimming pool or hot tub with water up to your neck.  Wave your arms back and forth, below the water, behind and in front of you.  The resistance of the water is like a massage for your arms, and it will help balance and strengthen your muscles.

5.  Walk backward.  Be sure there are no obstacles behind you.  This uses your arms and body in a whole new way.

6.  Stretch your chest muscles by leaning through a doorway.  Put your hands on the sides of the doorway and lean through.  You want to feel a gentle stretch in your chest muscles.Try this with your hands at shoulder height, at head height, and over your head.

7.  Lie on your back and stretch your arms over your head.  Feel the stretch in your arms and chest.

Moving your body in a lot of different ways helps

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Responds Well to Water Therapy

Carpal tunnel syndrome means you have pain, nervy sensations or numbness in certain parts of your hands, wrists or arms.  There are many different ways to help reduce your uncomfortable sensations.

One self-help therapy which can be very helpful is water or aquatic therapy.

When you move your arms through the water,it is a lot like getting a massage.  The water is your "massage therapist."

Because muscles are involved in your carpal tunnel syndrome, using your muscles can be the key to relieving your carpal tunnel pain.

You can do movements in the water that may be harder for you to do on "dry land."  You can do more in the water because part of the weight of your body and arms is being held up by the water.

The water causes resistance to your movement.  This helps you build muscle and strengthen muscles which have grown weak (and are part of the cause of your carpal tunnel pain.)

For carpal tunnel syndrome, the swimming pool water should

Does Ice Therapy Help Reduce Carpal Tunnel Syndrome?

Carpal tunnel pain can be treated both with ice (or cold) therapy and with heat.

There are therapists who believe that ice is often the better treatment for carpal tunnel pain.  Ice helps relieve pain and inflammation (swelling and irritation in your tissues.) 

Ice slows the blood flow while it acts as a pain reducer with no side effects.

Heat, however, increases the blood flow and so relieves pain by relaxing the muscles.  Heat is especially useful with long-standing or chronic carpal tunnel pain (pain you have had for a long time.)

Ice, however, is used for carpal tunnel pain that has just started recently, or for a new injury, or for new treatment. 

The recommendation to use ice is generally for the first 48 hours, but the inflammatory stage can last up to 5 days.  So, it is okay to use ice or cold therapy for the first 5 days after you start using it.

After that, you can alternate between cold therapy and heat therapy. 

Some people don't like to use ice or cold.  They find it too uncomfortable. 

And, in some cases of carpal tunnel syndrome, ice may not be the best treatment. 

People who have impaired blood flow could get worse symptoms by using ice.  People with certain vascular (blood) diseases that affect the circulation in their hands and arms should not use ice.  People with Reynaud's syndrome, who often have cold hands, should not use ice for their carpal tunnel pain.

How can you use ice or cold therapy for carpal tunnel syndrome?

1. You can put ice chips in a plastic baggie.  Use a zip-lock baggie or a twist tie to close the baggie tightly.  You can put the baggie directly on your skin or put a thin layer (or 2) of fabric between the bag and your skin.  Keep an eye on your skin for any sign of irritation.  If you see redness or discoloration, stop that session.  You can go back to it later.  Otherwise, keep the ice pack on for 20 to 30 minutes maximum.
2. You can use a gel cold pack.  It's not quite as cold as ice chips, but you still might feel more comfortable with some thin cloth between your skin and it.  Again, 20 to 30 minutes.
3. Ice massage is another option.  Freeze water in Styrofoam cups or paper cups.  When you are ready to use one, just tear off some of the lip of the cup to expose the ice.  Hold the cup with your opposite hand (use a cloth or rubber holder if it's too cold.)  Rub the ice in small circles on the area that needs

Carpal Tunnel Pain? Small Corrections Can Make A Big Difference

How do we get carpal tunnel syndrome?  Here's a common way.

Your arms and hands have been stuck in a particular position for a long period.

Where?

How about every day at work?  You work about 250 days a year.  After 250 days of your arms and hands being in the same position...what can you get?

Pain.

Carpal Tunnel Pain.

Whether your arm, hand, wrist pain is caused from repetitive actions at your place of work, or whether you have acquired some bad postural habits, or both, it doesn't change this fact:

You have pain around your carpal tunnel.  The carpal tunnel is a "tunnel," or opening, that blood vessels and nerves pass through in your wrist.

Now, carpal tunnel syndrome (a collection of symptoms) happens for reasons.  "Something" is happening that causes carpal tunnel pain.  Pain always happens in response to something.

You might use your hands in ways or positions that are not necessary for the jobs that you do, but you got into the habit of doing it like that.

I know there were many times when I, as a neuromuscular massage therapist, looked down at my hands as I was working and thought:  "Who the heck told me that was okay to do?"  I was using a hand or arm position which was bound to bring me grief.

That happens.  We're human.

What we have to do, is correct any movements that

Is Surgery the Answer to Your Carpal Tunnel Syndrome?

There are three types of people who have true carpal tunnel syndrome:  people with diabetes, pregnant women and people who have a smaller-than-average carpal tunnel.

The "carpal tunnel" is a passageway through your wrist.  Blood vessels and nerves pass through this "tunnel."  There is only so much space.

When muscles and other soft tissues get strained, or irritated, they swell.  If they swell near your wrist, they take more space in your carpal tunnel.  This can create symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome.  (A "syndrome" is a collection of "symptoms.")

If you have a tunnel that is smaller than average (which very few people have) and if you have a severe case of carpal tunnel syndrome, then perhaps surgery seems like the best alternative.  That is a decision that you and your doctor will have to make.

Keep in mind, about 50% of carpal tunnel surgeries are "successful."  And, out of those successful surgeries, about 50% of the patients begin to have pain in their carpal tunnel areas again within the next two years.

Why is it that the "unsuccessful" surgeries did not relieve carpal tunnel?

Perhaps the true cause of the carpal tunnel pain was not addressed by the surgery.  This happens with other types of surgeries, too.  That's why surgeons do fewer back surgeries now.

So is surgery the best answer to carpal tunnel syndrome or carpal tunnel pain?

Is wearing a girdle the best solution for weak abdominal muscles?  Or, is the solution

Carpal Tunnel Pain? Does The Way You Use Your Muscles Cause Carpal Tunnel Syndrome?

Carpal tunnel pain?  Let's look at some causes for pain in your arm, hand and wrist.

Remember, pain doesn't happen without a reason, especially not carpal tunnel discomfort.

We are built with certain muscles for certain jobs and all of our muscles work together to keep us pain-free!

We have smaller muscles and larger muscles.  Small muscles are designed to do small jobs.  Large muscles are more powerful and can take care of bigger jobs.

Sometimes we should use our larger muscles for a job.  When we use small muscles instead, our smaller muscles get strained.  Then we end up with carpal tunnel syndrome.

Here's an example:  Suppose you are building a box.  You are swinging a hammer.  But, you aren't using your whole arm to swing, with your wrist straight.  Instead, you are moving your hand at your wrist (the carpal tunnel area) to get all the motion to move the hammer.

That is not efficient movement.  You can't get as much power into your swing.  But, worse than that, instead of using your large powerful arm muscles, you are using the smaller muscles around your wrist and lower arm.

Your wrist muscles are doing the work and that is not the type of work they are designed for.  You end up with carpal tunnel area pain or get diagnosed with carpal tunnel syndrome.

Here's another example:  You have large leg

What Can You Do Today To Get Rid Of Your Carpal Tunnel Pain?

What does carpal tunnel syndrome mean?  It means that you have a bunch of symptoms which, all together, comprise a syndrome. 

A syndrome is a collection of symptoms.  Symptoms can be pain, numbness, nerve sensations, feelings of coldness in an area, a runny nose, a headache...you get the picture.

Symptoms are caused by something.  Not just any old random "something."  Carpal tunnel symptoms, or carpal tunnel syndrome, are caused by...

Poor or weak posture. 

Is your posture straight and upright?  Or, are you collapsed forward?

Collapsed posture will cause carpal tunnel syndrome (and other pain, too.)

Do you have pain in your shoulders and neck?  Headaches?  Maybe heart palpitations?  Is it hard to "sit up straight?"  Those are all symptoms of collapsed, or "forward head," posture.

Corrective action. 

Starting today, begin a program, no matter how simple, to start getting a stronger back.

To get rid of your carpal tunnel pain, you must take action.

My Simple Strengthening Video will be available to you very soon. 

In the meantime, there are things you can do to begin having fewer carpal tunnel symptoms. 

Start rolling your shoulders back and down.  Start lifting your breastbone to the sky.  Start squeezing your shoulder blades together.  Join a yoga class or get a yoga video for beginners and actually do it.

Result. 

When your back is strong, and your shoulders are back where they belong next to your body (rather than in front of your body) you will be on the road to recovery.

Being strong from the back of your thighs to the back of your neck will give you many health benefits.  You will feel better and look better. 

Your carpal tunnel syndrome will be less and less because your carpal tunnel symptoms will be going away.

"Because You Deserve To Feel Better!"

7 Steps to Carpal Tunnel Pain Freedom

Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) has a variety of debilitating symptoms.  Many people diagnosed with CTS believe they "just have to deal with it."  This is completely untrue!

Here are seven steps to help free you of carpal tunnel pain for good:

Research.

Learn about carpal tunnel syndrome.  You may not realize it, but dysfunction in the carpal tunnel area can cause a variety of symptoms.  (A "syndrome" is a collection of symptoms.) You may have heard the phrase "knowledge is power."  With CTS, it could not be more true.

Exercise.

If you are suffering with carpal tunnel syndrome or pain, you must devote some time to exercise every day.  Wait--don't go! 

Many people cringe at the thought of exercise because they are looking at too large of a picture.

Start small. 

Your arms and hands are a great place to start.  Your goal should be to start with the underdeveloped muscles in your arms, back and hands. 

You may be thinking, "How are simple strengthening exercises going to help prevent carpal tunnel pain?" 

It works like this: our overstretched muscles go into their own form of contraction.  They are trying not to be stretched any farther.  However, they do like to complain.  So, to call attention to themselves, they cause pain symptoms or things like carpal tunnel syndrome.

Overstretched back muscles cause pain in your back, of course, but they can also cause pain in your arms and hands.  The shortened muscles in the front of your body can also cause arm and hand pain, including carpal tunnel pain.

As you know, we have several hundred muscles in our bodies.  Most of us use only the same 50 or 60 muscles over and over.  We get out of muscular balance because we are not using the rest of our muscles. 

Carpal tunnel syndrome starts out because our muscles get "out of balance."  Some get weak and others get too tight.

A good goal is to use your muscles in different ways every day.  Think about moving in many different directions, rather than the same ways over and over.

Stretch daily.

By stretching the muscles in your arms and wrists on a daily basis, you are preventing your carpal tunnel area pain from

Seven Truths About Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

Are you wondering why you have carpal tunnel syndrome?

1.  There are natural laws that govern how our bodies work.  These laws state that if something occurs in one part of our body, something must happen elsewhere to compensate for the first occurrence.  Many times the "something somewhere else" is pain, maybe in our hand, arm or wrist.  Something has to happen first before we get carpal tunnel syndrome.  It doesn't happen for without a reason (or two.)

2.  Our overstretched muscles go into their own form of contraction.  To call attention to their plight, they cause muscle pain symptoms.  For example, when the muscles in your arm become overstretched and tight, you get pain in your carpal tunnel area (hand, wrist and arm.)

3.  We each have several hundred muscles in our bodies.  Yet, most of us use only the same 50 or so over and over.  As you can imagine, we get out of muscular balance because we are not using the rest of our muscles.  Our carpal tunnel area does not like that.

4.  Most of our days consist of having our head in front of our body.  If your head is in front of your body all day, this is similar to walking around with a bowling ball hanging off your neck!  This forward head posture causes muscle stress, headaches, TMJ pain and dysfunction, migraines, pain in the back and carpal tunnel area pain. 

5.  If you have carpal tunnel symptoms or hand, wrist and arm pain, there is a very good chance that you also have other complaints, such as pain in your head, jaw, neck and back.  Most headaches are also muscular in origin (how they start.)

6.  There are three categories of people whose carpal tunnel syndrome may not be cause solely by muscles.  People who are pregnant.  Their pain goes away after delivery.  Diabetics.  Those individuals need to be treated by their physician, but may also benefit from this information to reduce their carpal tunnel discomfort.  There are certain individuals who are genetically predisposed to have a smaller carpal tunnel area than most.  They may experience carpal tunnel pain regardless of whether or not they have over-strained their muscles.

7.  There are drug-free, surgery-free alternatives to conventional medical treatments, which can give you the opportunity to reduce or eliminate your carpal tunnel pain forever.

Attaining balance is the answer.  But prior to achieving balance, we may have to

Painful Weak Grip? What Can You Do When It Hurts To Hold Something?

Does carpal tunnel syndrome give you a painful weak grip?

A weak painful grip is caused by muscles in your forearm (lower arm.)  It is not necessarily a symptom of carpal tunnel syndrome, but it could be.  It can also occur all by itself.

Your grip may be so painful and/or weak that you drop things; they just fall right out of your hand.  Is this a symptom of carpal tunnel syndrome?

There are clues to which muscles are involved when we have discomfort around the carpal tunnel area.  Pain in the web of your thumb is one indicator of which muscles are causing your painful weak grip.  Your weak grip is another clue.

Sometimes people get a diagnosis of "tennis elbow" even if they don't play tennis.  That can be because pain is felt toward the "outside" of the elbow.  

Referred muscle pain is often also felt on the outer wrist or backside of the hand.  When the muscles in your forearm get aggravated, they cause pain elsewhere.  Sometimes that discomfort is diagnosed as carpal tunnel syndrome.  The solution is to help those muscles relax or get back to normal.

All of the muscles that are causing your painful weak grip are generally on the back or front side of your forearm.

If you go to this self-massage article it will help you get started on releasing the muscles in your forearm that are causing you to have that painful weak grip.

If you don't want to do it yourself, How To Interview a Massage Therapist will help you get going in that direction.

You don't have to hurt, but you do have to do something to stop your pain.

"Because You Deserve To Feel Better!"