I'm not sure if I have carpal tunnel syndrome, I have a swollen wrist on my left side, my thumb hurts and my fingers tingle, so I got a brace and wear it at night but it seems to make my whole arm go numb all the way under my arm. I have 800 mg of ibuprofen but that seems to make it worst. I am hypothyroid and I know the two seem to go together, any help would be appreciated
Susan, do you have the brace on too tight? Or maybe it's simply the position you have your hands or arms in overnight. Try lying on your back with your arms at your side when you sleep and see if that makes a difference. Or lie on your side with your arm resting on a pillow next to you. The whole object is to have your arm relaxed but in a straight position as much as possible. Do all of your fingers tingle or just your thumb, pointer and middle finger? Are them numb on the fingertips and/or from the knuckle to the fingertips? Try putting baby oil on them, putting them in a plastic bag and then putting your hands in a heating pad if you have one. See if that makes them feel any better. Obviously if you can afford it, get a hot wax machine and use that instead of the oil. The machine might have terrycloth gloves in it, but I like using a heating pad instead.
I am new to the message boards but I would like to tell you about a video I found which talks about your bones, muscles, tendons; the whole nine yards and explains why we have problems with our hands. It seems it explains things which have been overlooked in our society. The video is on YouTube, just put "What's In A Grip" in the search box. There's two parts to this video. I work a lot with my hands; gardening, etc. and I am not very careful about protecting them. But, I use small weights with the product offered in this video and have gained substantial hand strength. Also, I have a friend who first used the product just be squeezing it and it improved her carpal tunnel. It is unfortunate that most health providers want to mask our pain instead of finding the source of it. I hope this helps.
Last edited by cchooray3; 02-10-2009 at 12:40 PM.
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