Avoid repetitious activity with the fingers, hands, arms and neck.
Avoid heavy lifting and tightening the fists or arm muscles.
Avoid wearing hand/wrist splints during the daytime; they cause weakness in the wrists, and also can cause problems in the elbows, because the pressure is now shifted from the wrists to the elbows.
Avoid using the elbows in place of the wrists.
An elbow brace for epicondylitis, a type of inflammation disorder in the elbow.
The pain can also be shifted to the shoulder, neck and back.
Avoid eating salty foods.
Take frequent breaks from the computer, and do arm stretches and hand exercises at the desk. Learn the proper way to sit at the computer.
Avoid sleeping on your hands or arms. Sleeping on the back is supposed to be the best way to sleep orthopaedically.
Vitamins A, C and E or anti-oxidants.
Omega 3, 6, and 9.
Anti-inflammatory drugs or health food store kind such as turmeric.
Bromelain or pineapple enzymes are good following surgery or injury, if you are still having pain that might be caused by scar tissue. It breaks down scar tissue.
All sorts of nerve stretching exercises.
Read books on carpal tunnel syndrome, chronic pain, and inflammation sydrome.
Acupuncture.
Massage.
Ice packs if the pain is unbearable.
Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation or TENS.
If the physical therapist tells you that you must suffer pain in order to get better, or "no pain, no gain," you need a better therapist. No pain-relief therapy should be painful.
Never push your limits. If your body tells you to stop an activity, stop.
Excercise is always good, and a natural endorphin-stimulating pain reliever.
Remember that the nerves begin in the neck and end at the finger tips, so the actual problem could be located anywhere along these areas, and not necessarily in the wrists themselves.
I didn't know about not wearing a brace during the day/working hours. I tried it yesterday before I read your post and it was difficult, if not impossible to do my job. I could count money, but was unable to write legibly.
I'm sorry to hear about this. I don't know anything about your condition, and I'm not a doctor, so I wouldn't even think of giving advice, but for me I had carpal tunnel or more specifically damage to the nerve area of my wrist. I wore wrist braces during the day (before a man told me I shouldn't do it), and my condition got worse because I couldn't do things with my wrists so I compensated by using my elbows. After a while, I had problems with my elbows. This is why they say not to use the wrist braces during the day because the wrists will be inhibited and people will use their elbows in place of their wrists. It also can make the wrists weak. They can use their shoulders in place of their elbows too, and before they know it they have a problem with their shoulders. The problem can move up. I have seen some people using wrist braces during the day. I don't say anything to them though. I said something once to a woman, and she told me that her doctor said it was okay. I left it at that. I guess it is an individual decision.
Hope you get better.
Quote:
Originally Posted by fishymom
I didn't know about not wearing a brace during the day/working hours. I tried it yesterday before I read your post and it was difficult, if not impossible to do my job. I could count money, but was unable to write legibly.
Hey the surgury is so simple they put your arm to sleep and it takes about 15 min to do surgury . you can use your hand that day just cant move wrist then about 2 weeks have the other done . i had no feeling in my fingers wake up in morning arms asleep now been15 years and perfict. Just practice going to the bath room cause what ever hand you use try using the other you will see what im talking about. Do the surgury its simple PROMISE
Glad to hear you had success. I read that older females are the ones who will most likely benefit from carpal tunnel release surgery, and others contemplating surgery should use caution, because it likely will not help them. As for me, it made my condition worse. My pain increased 10-fold after the anesthesia wore off, and my surgeon was no where to be seen, except to accept his award of appreciation, throw some narcotics at me, and tell me to stop whining. This was followed by a multitude of attempts to remedy the damage done. Two years and immeasurable grief later, I awakened one day to discover that my everyday pain had finally subsided. It was a nightmare.
