I'm not going to get super technical here, but if you have some 'funny feelings' in your fingers or thumb, then you're going to want to read this. Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is an uncomfortable and potentially debilitating condition that is preventable with a little extra care. Carpal Tunnel syndrome affects your hands as a result of wrist pressure. It feels like tingling or numbness starting in your finger tips and thumb and may progress to feeling of pain or burning and weakness affecting use of the hand.
Between your wrist bone and its supportive tissues is a very small space called the Carpal Tunnel. The median nerve goes through that little tunnel to get to your fingers and thumb. Because the Carpal Tunnel space is so small, any swelling or change to the space from pressure can irritate or compress the median nerve, causing the uncomfortable sensations.
During pregnancy, the swelling that many women experience puts them at higher risk for developing Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. For some, this will go away after the pregnancy. For some others who are not so lucky, this can cause serious and potentially permanent damage that could even require surgery to alleviate.
If you are pregnant and you have any of the other risk factors for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, then you are at an even greater risk. Other risk factors include long spans of typing, other small repetitive hand tasks, obesity and injury to the area. Knowing that you have any or even a few of these risk factors should be enough to convince you to put a little effort into prevention--- as many medical professionals will tell you, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure!
The greatest prevention for avoiding Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is going to be avoiding what is causing the aggravation to the median nerve. If it’s swelling from pregnancy, you can’t help being pregnant, but you can watch that weight gain, sodium intake and make sure you’re well hydrated so your body isn’t hanging on to unnecessary fluid. Try to modify activities that make the symptoms worse so that you aren’t bending or putting pressure on the wrist. This might include adjusting your chair height or lowering your computer when typing so that you see your wrist is as flat as possible while typing. And, with any activity work-related or fun (some people will give this to themselves from recreational activities like sewing!), be sure that you are taking a five to ten minute break for every hour of activity.
If you already have the symptoms of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, you should discuss them with your doctor. He or she may help you to find a wrist support or brace that can help to keep it from getting worse as it heals.
In the meantime, if you have any of the risk factors for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, you should really try to get in the habit of doing some wrist ‘exercises’ (they’re really more like stretches). These are especially useful at work and once you practice these a few times, they will come naturally:
Follow this sequence 10 times, allowing each step to be held for five slow breaths:
1) Extend and stretch both wrists and fingers acutely as if you were doing a handstand against an invisible wall in front of you. If it were your foot, it would look like you were lifting it off of a gas pedal.
2) Straighten both of your wrists and let your fingers hang limp.
3) Make a tight fist with both hands, arms still extended straight out in front of you.
4) Bend both hands down like your fists are taking a bow.
5) Straighten both wrists and let your fingers hang limp.
-- if any of these movements are PAINFUL, then STOP. You need to discuss this with your doctor.
-- you can do this as often as you take breaks from activity.
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