The carpal tunnel consists of a narrow channel at the bottom of each palm. Made of bones in the wrist crossed by a length of tissue called the transverse carpal ligament, the tunnel surrounds the median nerve and numerous tendons that extend from the arm to the thumb and fingers. Various issues can affect the carpal tunnel, leading to the painful and widespread condition called carpal tunnel syndrome.
Significance of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
The median nerve in the carpal tunnel enables your thumb and fingers to feel sensations, and the tendons help your thumb and fingers bend. If the median nerve becomes compressed or irritated, however, the excess pressure can lead to carpal tunnel syndrome. Factors capable of causing compression or irritation include inflammation, swelling and wrist fractures. Contributing factors are sometimes due to other medical conditions, such as osteoarthritis or rheumatoid arthritis in the wrist, diabetes, fluid retention, a tumor or an underactive thyroid. People with carpal tunnel syndrome typically experience symptoms in the fingers, hands and wrist, ranging from numbness and weakness to tingling and pain. When pain occurs, it can also extend from the fingers through the arm to the shoulders.
Function of Prevention Exercises
Preventing carpal tunnel syndrome is not possible, largely because so many factors can cause the condition to occur, but although no known methods can directly prevent carpal tunnel syndrome, various tactics can help you lower your risk of developing the condition. These precautionary strategies make carpal tunnel syndrome less likely by reducing the amount of stress on your wrists and hands. Conditioning exercises usually involve stretching movements designed to improve the blood circulation in your hands, neck, shoulders and wrists. The exercises accomplish this goal by increasing the strength of the muscles located in those areas.
Exercise Examples
Exercises for lowering your chances of developing carpal tunnel syndrome include circular and extension movements. Performed one hand at a time, wrist circles require extending your second and third finger upward while you clench the other fingers. After forming five circles from right to left in the air in front of you, you should repeat the same process from left to right with the same hand. Another helpful exercise involves tightly clenching all of the fingers on one hand for five seconds before extending them in a fan-shaped manner. To target your neck and shoulders, you can hold your arms at your sides as you stand. You should then shrug your shoulders in an upward motion, press them back and finally press them down, then forward.
Other Prevention Tips
Many conditioning exercises are most effective at stretching and strengthening the relevant areas of your body when you complete them in sets, such as five times on each hand. Performing exercises several minutes before you participate in activities that endanger the carpal tunnel, such as using a keyboard for long periods, can also lower your chances of developing carpal tunnel syndrome. Additional prevention measures include avoiding cold temperatures during activities, which contributes to stiffness and pain in the wrists and hands, and taking regular breaks during activities to rest your wrists and hands.
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