Carpal Tunnel Stretches

Get your copy of Carpal tunnel exercises, for stretching and tension relief. But bear in mind that this condition could be neck muscle spasm related. The myofascia - the tissue that wraps our muscles from head to toe, can retain tension - a kind of stickiness - so instead of sliding easily as our body parts move, it retains tension and sticks. So, some carpal tunnel pain can originate in our neck.

Myofascial release - getting this special tissue to glide and relax, allowing our muscles and other soft tissues to move easily, can be done by massage - a passive therapy, or by special stretching, an active therapy that YOU do.

It can also be done by trigger point therapy, which a chiropractor will do, acupressure, or shiatsu, the Japanese technique. Reflexology and yoga will get a result for you too.

If you have carpal tunnel tension and pain, it could be related to neck tension. You can find out by having a couple of neck/shoulder/upper back massages, and experience whether or not your wrist pain gets relief, or not.

If you choose this, ask the massage therapist to do some tension release on your scalp muscles. Why leave them out - a tense scalp will affect tension in your neck, and so on and so on.

Another way you can determine the source of your forearm/wrist pain is to see a chiropractor. Have your neck and upper back checked for spinal misalignments and muscle tension. Having this treated may help your wrists.

Yoga works, strengthens and stretches your muscles. It generally corrects and strengthens your posture and body awareness, helping your overall tension and habits.

You will have to do some investigation to determine the source of your carpal tunnel pain. It often can be relieved with treatment for your neck muscle spasms. The best way to relieve both areas, once you know what is involved, is to learn a routine you can watch on a DVD and do at home - the best carpal tunnel stretches.

First published at Ezinearticles.

If you understand the dynamics already, just go and get your carpal tunnel stretches.

The Median nerve runs from the forearm into the hand through a tunnel that runs under the Transverse Carpal Ligament, or the wide ligament running across the hand from the base of the thumb to the outside of the wrist.

This tunnel is shared by the Finger Flexors Tendons, which run up to the finger tips.

These tendons can become irritated, swollen, and inflammed, by overuse. Typical overuse would be typing at a computer all day without using a wrist rest or setting up a work station that creates a support for good posture in the spine, shoulders and neck.

Months, and even years before a person suffers excrutiating, crippling pain in the wrists, an individual may have noticed neck stiffness, shoulder aches, and back aches. Left unexamined, pain and stiffness will travel down the arms to the wrists, hands and fingers.

However, if an ergonomic work station is created at work and at home, which provides comfortable support for the natural spinal curve at the waist, and for elbow rests that position the hands at the wrist rest on a keyboard, muscle tension, pain and headaches can be prevented.

Even with an ideal work station, you should get up and stretch and walk around a little, every hour.

Better than that, simple stretches can be learned that allow you to sit at your desk and perform discreet stretches called RESISTANCE STRETCHES, or DYNAMIC STRETCHES.

To keep this simple, imagine stretching your neck to the right, while pushing back with your neck muscles to the left. Same with a side stretch elongating the entire spine.

This is easy to learn and deceptively effective.

Stretching the inner wrist/palm of hand/fingers periodically is important as well.

Headaches, a stiff neck, or back aches is a WARNING that you need to learn some skills at stretching properly, and relaxing every day. Tension simply increases if it is not released.

While there are other causes for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, a condition that can develop from repetitive hand and finger movements, a build up of tension that has reached the forearm muscles is a common cause.

Once the finger flexor tendons become swollen, the median nerve is pressed on in the Carpal Tunnel. It is a traffic jam, so to speak.

Pain, numbness and tingling can ensue, disabling you from typing at all.

The best plan is to learn some dynamic resistance stretches before you have any pain. If you do have a level of pain in your wrists or hands that does not go away with rest, you should see a health practitioner immediately. Physiotherapists and chiropractors are trained to teach you exercises that will help. Also, you will learn home treatment for carpal tunnel (or neck pain and tension, etc.), such as icing, stretching and perhaps improvements in your nutrition.

You will improve the muscle conditioning of your ENTIRE upper body by learning CARPAL TUNNEL STRETCHES..

If you have mild aches and pains that are becoming increasingly noticeable, learn stretching exercises that will likely relieve them. Also, check your posture at work (or play, walking, running, etc.,).

Wrist and hand pain can result when you type all day long. Or, play a concert piano, do hairstyles or retain tension from any activity. What makes this worse is if you work with poor posture - looking down (to any degree) at a computer monitor, slumping in the low back, and letting your chest cave in, suppressing proper breathing. This leads to decreased ranges of motion in your neck, shoulder, spine, forearm and wrist areas.

Repetitive stress, resulting in hand pain and wrist pain, can be prevented and soothed by understanding the connective tissues of the body, and how to take care of them.

The entire body is connected by fascia, a tissue covering all the soft tissues. Typically, the scalp muscles and the muscles right under the skull and top of the neck, will retain tension from nothing more than incorrect posture, and this tension will travel down the body.

Add athletic training, hours at a desk, or any repetitive motion, and chronic pain will result.

It is not a good idea to ignore pain or just take over the counter pain relievers. Seeing a chiropractor or a physio therapist, for treatment and to learn some home care, will bring pain relief and re-train your habits.

Also, getting a stretching guide from an experienced professional for home use will help you get pain relief. Not only will it relieve tension that is causing a pinched-nerve situation, resulting in muscle or joint pain, but establishing a routine in stretching will increase circulation and promote a general feeling of well being.

If you have any sharp or deep pain of any kind, be sure to consult a health practitioner.

We do not always know how much we can improve our muscle and soft tissue condition through learning proper daily stretching. Yet, simple routines can make a lot of difference. Increasing muscle tone through tension release, and decreasing the need for drugs is a positive direction to take. Learn gentle resistance stretching with the Ultimate Stretching Guide, for your carpal tunnel treatment.

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