Since covid working from home has turned into a full-time position. With working on the computer your wrist may be more flexed upwards causing tension on your wrist.
What is carpal tunnel?
Carpal tunnel is caused when there is pressure on the median nerve. This nerve runs from your hand to your neck. The carpal tunnel is a narrow passageway on the palm side of your hand, hence the name tunnel. It contains nerves and tendons. Carpal tunnel can be seen in older adults over 40 and rarely if ever seen in children.
Carpal Tunnel: What Is It & What Can I Do About It?
Symptoms Of Carpal Tunnel
Gradually over time, symptoms will start to occur. Day after day when you are at your desk with your wrist bent and in the same position. Some symptoms to watch for are itching, burning, tingling up and down the arm, your hand falling asleep, numbness, and weakness in the hand.
The most common symptoms are tingling and numbness in the hand. If you are feeling any of these symptoms it’s best to talk to your doctor or a physical therapist to be proactive in identifying what is causing you pain and discomfort. The pain and tingling may even travel up your arm to your shoulder. You may notice your grip strength isn’t as strong as it was before overtime.
Common Causes of Carpal Tunnel
You do not need to work at a desk to get carpal tunnel syndrome. Anyone who uses their hands and does a repetitive motion can increase their risk of getting carpal tunnel. Other common causes are dislocation, a break in the bone, diabetes, medications, or thyroid problems. Sometimes there may not even be a cause, it may be a condition that builds up over time.
How Do You Prevent Carpal Tunnel?
Ways to prevent carpal tunnel or see further damage is to be aware of your wrist position. The neutral wrist position is the most protective position. This is when your hand is in line with your wrist. Do you ever wake up after a night of sleeping and your hands or wrists hurt? This may be due to you sleeping on your hands or sleeping in an uncomfortable position for your body.
Pay attention to how you are sleeping on your hands so you can keep them in a neutral position. Watching your overall posture can help prevent carpal tunnel. If you are sitting or standing poorly you can place strain on your neck and shoulders and then that strain can go down to your wrists causing a numbness or tingling feeling. Being aware of your overall posture can be very helpful when trying to prevent carpal tunnel.
Performing the same repetitive motion whether that be at your job or doing an activity. If you can not avoid repetitive motions make sure to take more breaks to stretch and give your body a break from that motion. You can increase your grip strength by gripping a ball for 8 seconds 15 times. When completing repetitive tasks you tend to complete them the same way with the same motions. You may become unaware of this and tend to do the task more forcefully than you really need to or hold an item in a strange position. For example, pushing down on a pen harder than you need to when writing.
Physical Therapy for Carpal Tunnel
Physiotherapy is designed to use physical therapy to help people with injuries or pain and help restore their health. You may be experiencing pain in the wrist but it may actually be coming from your neck. That’s why at Preferred Physical Therapy in Glendale Arizona our therapists check for neck cervical disc issues, as it may turn out to be a neck issue that is continuing down to your hand.
Our therapists have one-on-one hands-on treatment time with their patients. During this time they may massage along the median nerve track and also perform nerve gliding to help stretch out the pinched nerves and tendons. Nerve gliding is an exercise designed to help the nerves to glide more efficiently without causing further injury.
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Hear From One Of Our Patients
At Preferred Physical Therapy in Glendale, Arizona some of our past patients do a success story and tell their story about physical therapy. Lauren suffered wrist pain while lifting and was not able to type, rotate her wrist, or lift anything. After ignoring it for some time she then decided to seek out physical therapy. Since coming to us she is now pain-free and able to do all of the things she loves doing again. To hear from Lauren and her experience watch this video! Wrist Pain- Lauren’s Success Story
Preferred Physical Therapy Clinic in Arizona
At our clinic in Glendale, Arizona we are unlike other physical therapy clinics. We first make it a priority to reach out to you to learn more about why you are interested in physical therapy. This can include getting to know what you love doing, what you are missing out on due to your pain, what your pain feels like, and where you think your pain is coming from.
Next, once we have a first phone call you come into the clinic to see if we are a fit for you. This is where the provider will spend time with you to get to hear what you have been going through to properly find a diagnosis. Next, they create a unique plan for you and your pain, this includes one-on-one hands-on time and exercises for you to complete.
To learn more about us and how we can help you solve your pain…
Dr, Nick’s greatest passion is seeing his patients recover from injury and return to their activities that bring them joy.
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