Effective Ways to Stop Carpal Tunnel In Its Tracks

By Ashley Delmar

Carpal tunnel syndrome is most often associated with painful numbness targeting the 5th to 4th fingers. This numbness can become unbearably over a prolonged period and can even lead to permanent nerve damage if left untreated. If your job or hobbies puts you at an increased risk for developing carpal tunnel syndrome, you can learn to prevent this disorder by making small changes to your everyday routine. 

Use an Ergonomic Keyboard

Although ergonomic keyboards can be an investment, using one could save you from pain years later. Ergonomic keyboards help because their signature contours and waves help to foster better posture and hand positioning. This can help to reduce the stain placed on your wrist overtime and can in turn prevent the possibility of injuries like carpal tunnel. 

Take a Break 

If you find yourself prone to daydreaming and clocking watching, you'll be happy to know that taking a break at work could have some health benefits. Giving yourself a short 10-minute break for every hours of work can help to break up repetitive movements and give the tendons and muscles in your hands a change to recover. Using this time to perform simple stretches in your wrists can go a long way in building up wrist strength and reducing your risk for carpal tunnel. Practicing flexing your wrist to point upwards to the ceiling, and the down to the floor is a great easy stretch to relief build up tension in your wrists. 

Keep Warm 

There's a good reason why dancers place so much emphasis on staying warm. Much a like a car in the deep of the winter, cold temperatures over a long period of time can exacerbate existing joint pain and stiffness and make it harder for you to move your wrists and hands normally. Any kind of wrist stiffness combined with repetitive movements can be a recipe for carpal tunnel, so it's important to keep warm while you work to prevent unnecessary stiffness. Taking a few minutes to stretch your wrists when you feel joints getting cold is a good way to prevent this. 

Carpal tunnel is a painful aliment to contend with, so making changes to prevent it in the first place is key. Being aware of stiffness in your wrists and hands and taking frequent breaks to stretch are important in combatting the early signs of carpal tunnel. If your carpal tunnel symptoms aren't subsiding or seem to be getting worse, talking to your supervisor to change up your work routine might be necessary to prevent further strain. As always, talking to a health care professional such as your chiropractor is always recommended for the best advise on treating any health and wellness ailment. 

To learn more about your health, wellness and fitness, see your local chiropractor at The Joint Chiropractic in Glen Carbon, Ill.