Non-Surgical Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Treatment

We humans have worked with their hands throughout history. However, with the advent of the cell phone and computers, we are more prone to repetitive motions with our hands. This is true both at work and at home. Programmers, authors, receptionist, and graphic designers are just a few professionals who use their hands most of the day. Outside of work, many people, regardless of their profession, spend hours using their hands to browse social media or the web. The long-term consequence of repetitive hand motions is sometimes carpal tunnel syndrome. If the condition is advanced, it sometimes necessitates surgery. The good news is there are a number of non-surgical carpal tunnel syndrome treatment options available that may potentially prevent the need for surgery.

About Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

The symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome range from mild to severe, and individual factors (such as pregnancy, metabolic or hormonal conditions, and even emotional states) may make some people more susceptible to get carpal tunnel syndrome than others. You can tell that you have carpal tunnel syndrome because you wake up at night with numb hands. Or perhaps because you feel an itching sensation in your palms. Other symptoms you might experience are a tingling sensation in your wrist and fingers, or even a loss of strength in your hands. In an advanced stage, the condition can lead to decreased circulation to your hands.  

It is likely that you have carpal tunnel syndrome if you have a number of these symptoms. However, you should get a formal diagnosis by a physician, preferably by a hand specialist. After all, there are different hand conditions that cause similar symptoms, and getting a correct diagnosis is essential to address your specific problem. 

If your physician determines that you do have carpal tunnel syndrome and that it is severe, he or she might recommend carpal tunnel surgery in one or both of your hands. However, if you are like most people, surgery is not you would undergo if you can avoid it. Fortunately, there are non-surgical carpal tunnel syndrome treatment options which you can proactively adopt to lessen your symptoms, and ultimately avoid the need for surgery.

Rest – A Non-Surgical Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Treatment That’s Simple Yet Difficult

One of the most obvious ways to prevent they need for carpal tunnel syndrome surgery is to give your hands as much rest as possible. Perhaps you can take breaks from your daily activities. Even better, perhaps you can take a extended period of time from your normal activities to give your hands a more time to rest from the daily strain you place on them. While it might feel difficult to put aside your daily tasks temporarily, such a break would be for the benefit of being able to perform the activities in the long term. So your drop in productivity now would be to continued productivity in the future.

Technology – A Non-Surgical Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Treatment That Facilitates Your Tasks

If you are unable to unwilling to take a break from daily routine, you should research tools that will assist you in doing your work without using your hands. For example, if you write a lot for example perhaps you can get yourself a transcription device that allows you to speak rather than to write. This way the device will do the typing for you. Fortunately, the later versions of Microsoft Windows come with a free Dictation function that allows you to do just this. If you don’t have this option, you might want to consider purchasing products such as Nuance Dragon, which also offers this function.

There is a learning curve to using dictation software. However, like anything else, once you practice enough it becomes second nature. Practice consistently with the software and hopefully this will replace most of your typing.

Equipment and Posture – Non-Surgical Treatment Options That Improve Your Body’s Form

Regardless of whether you use dictation software, you want to make sure that all of the equipment that you are using is ergonomic. For example, there are many ergonomic keyboards and computer mice available. In addition, you should also pay attention to your body posture since that too can contribute to carpal tunnel syndrome. There is equipment that can help you maintain good posture, such as PostureNow.

You can additionally make use of hand braces to immobilize your hands while you are asleep. They ensure that you don’t bend your wrist at night–which is common and exacerbates carpal tunnel syndrome.  It might take a while before you feel some improvement due to wearing the brace at night. You can wear brace during the day as well. However, these are usually bulky and inhibit your range of motion. Therefore, they will likely affect your efficiency and will feel uncomfortable.

During the day, you might find it preferable to wear wrist supports. These go primarily on your wrist and leaves your hand open for movement. They provide some support to your wrist to lesson your symptoms during your daily activities.

I should note that, whether you decide to wear a hand brace and/or wrist support, you should make sure to follow recommendations of the manufacturers. For instance, you don’t want to put on these devices too tight or to leave them on at all times. Also, just because devices as the hand brace and wrist support minimize symptoms it does not mean that you can work harder. Remember that in order to counter your carpal tunnel syndrome, you should also be incorporating rests and varying your movements.

Hand Exercises – Non-Surgical Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Treatment Requiring Purposeful Movement

While giving your hand the chance to rest and recuperative, you should also work on making your hands get stronger. Strengthening your hands will make them more resilient against the development of carpal tunnel syndrome. Thus, make it a habit to exercise your hands regularly.

There are many tool kits available to exercise your hands. One particularly useful is the Docszac Hand Master Exerciser. This hand exercise for has bands, with which you can do extension finger exercises, as well as a ball, with which you can do flexion exercises. Therefore, the Doczac Hand Master Exerciser combines the roles of both hand resistance bands as well as hand stress ball exercises.  

You can get this product at Health Products For You. Health Products For You is a company that it dedicated to making healthcare products accessible to everyone. They also pride themselves in giving back to their communities. You can check out this product at Health Products For You via the link provided at the bottom of this post, or via the Wellness Tools page.

Unlike other forms of exercise, you won’t sweat while doing hand exercises. You also won’t require a lot of focus. In fact, you could likely read or watch television at the same time as you do your hand exercises. Once you incorporate your hand exercise routine into your day, it will with time become second nature–not unlike brushing your teeth or combing your hair. Just make sure that you incorporate them into your daily routine.

The Carpal Solution – Possibly the Best Non-Surgical Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Treatment

Probably the most effective non-surgical carpal tunnel treatment I have come across is The Carpal Solution. The Carpal Solution consists of disposable wraps that you place on your hands. You can get it for only your right hand, only your left hand, or both your hands. What you will want to order will depend on whether you need treatment for one or both of your hands.

If you follow the instructions that come with the product, within a matter of weeks, you should feel some improvement in your symptoms. The product was created by physicians and helps promote the healing ability of your own body to improve your carpal tunnel symptoms. It has helped many people where other measures have been unsuccessful and has helped numerous people avoid surgery.

I have included it last in my discussion of non-surgical carpal tunnel syndrome treatment options even if it is the one that I believe is the most effective, because it is also the most expensive. Most people would try the least expensive options to see if they work before they consider more expensive options. If your carpal tunnel syndrome symptoms are more than mild, however, or if you don’t mind making a bigger upfront investment on your hands, you might consider The Carpal Solution earlier rather than later. It is a wonderful option to have.

Importance of Consistency

Depending on the severity of your carpal tunnel syndrome, you might feel your symptoms improve after using just these measures. You might be tempted to stop implementing these measures when you feel better. However, so long as you continue doing repetitive activities continue, chances are that the symptoms will come back. So it is important to be consistent with these treatment options event when you start to feel better.

That said, you also want to make sure that you give your hands some rest from wearing splints or wrist supports from time to time. Not doing so may lead to bad consequences such as muscle atrophy. That is another reason why you should be exercising your hands whenever possible.

Consult Your Doctor

Do note that carpal tunnel syndrome can sometimes be confused with are there conditions such as tendonitis. Again, you should consult your doctor for a diagnosis of your condition. Also, get their perspective on your non-surgical carpal tunnel syndrome treatment of preference. In some cases, such as with hand braces or The Carpal Solution, your physician might be able to write you a prescription that would allow the device cost to be reimbursed by your insurance company. Furthermore, your physician may also be off be able to offer you other non-surgical carpal tunnel treatment options that you may take advantage of, such as physical or occupational therapy.

Conclusion

In this post I shared with you some non-surgical carpal tunnel syndrome treatment options. If you have carpal tunnel syndrome and do not want to get to the point of needing surgery, consider trying some of this non-surgical carpal tunnel syndrome treatment options.

If you are consistent in implementing measures to avoid or relief carpal tunnel syndrome, you might avoid having to undergo surgery for carpal tunnel syndrome. Carpal tunnel surgery might be unavoidable in some cases. But all surgery undoubtedly comes with risks and inconveniences. Additionally, carpal tunnel surgery does not guarantee a permanent solution, as is possible for symptoms to recur in the future.

To minimize your chance of needing carpal tunnel surgery, be proactive. Adopt as many of non-surgical carpal tunnel syndrome treatment options available today. Now that you know some of the options out there, check out links to products mentioned in this post in the Wellness Tools page.