Best Products For Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
Carpal tunnel syndrome is caused by compression of the median nerve in your arm and develops gradually over time.
Symptoms include:
- A dull ache in the wrist and forearm
- Pain radiates into the thumb and first four fingers of your hand
- Tingling or burning pain
- Wrist pain at night
- Weakness in the hand and fingers, with difficulty gripping
Treatment
Treatment includes rest, cold therapy and immobilisation through wearing a Carpal Tunnel Wrist Splint.
Wrist splint/brace
Rest and avoid anything which causes pain or makes your symptoms worse. If you continue to exercise or use your wrist for daily activities then you are not allowing any pain and inflammation to settle down. As a result it fails to heal.
Wear a Carpal Tunnel Wrist Splint or brace. This is wrist support with a solid metal spoon in which helps prevent wrist movement. Wear the brace all the time whilst it is healing.
Cold therapy wraps
Apply a cold therapy compression wrap to your wrist for 10 minutes every hour for the first few hours. This is especially important if you have pain or swelling present. As your symptoms improve you can reduce frequence to 2 to 4 times per day.
The Medium Hot and Cold Wrap is great for applying around your wrist and is large enough for other body areas including knee, lower leg and elbows.
A simple reusable cold gel back is handy to keep in the freezer to use whenever you need.
Cold gel
Cold gel is not a replacement for using a cold therapy wrap. However, it is ideal if you do not have access to ice for example, if you are out at work or school. Or use it in addition to cold compression wraps.
You can easily apply cold gel throughout the day to reduce pain and inflammation.
Exercises for Carpal tunnel syndrome
Once you have pain and inflammation under control you can begin wrist stretching and strengthening exercises specifically for Carpal tunnel syndrome. These include flexion and extension stretches and initially isometric strengthening exercises.