Is it better to stretch for carpal tunnel pain relief? Or is it better to have massage therapy? And why?
Stretching is good for bodies. Muscles love to stretch and move.
But when you have muscle spasms or “knots” the parts of the muscles that are in spasm (or contraction) don’t stretch. They cannot. Only the parts of the muscle that are not in spasm can stretch.
And that’s okay. Stretching is still good. You may notice that it FEELS good. That’s your body saying, “Hey! I rather like this stuff!” (If stretching doesn’t feel good to you, keep reading.)
Massage (on the other hand) can get
rid of the areas of tightness, the knots or spasms or contractions that are causing your carpal tunnel symptoms.
When you (or someone else) presses into a tight area of muscle, the muscle reacts by sending in more blood. You see, a contracted (short and tight) muscle doesn’t have all of the blood it needs.
Squeeze your hand into a fist. See how your fingers turn white? You are stopping the blood flow. You are essentially creating a contraction or spasm. The same thing happens in your muscles when they are in contraction.
Pressing into a spasm will increase the blood flow and your spasm will relax or “release.” Pinching the muscle (not just the skin) can work the same way.
So, stretching can help balance and support muscle fibers that aren’t in spasm. Massage can help get rid of the spasms. And you can learn how to do massage yourself.
But, here’s the thing. There are places to press that will help your muscles relax. They are the correct places to treat.
And then there are places that hurt (they are the symptoms) and that’s where some massage therapists or other people press, pinch or massage. Those places may NOT be the correct places to press. They may not be able to relax or bring you relief.
Knowing where to press or massage can make the world of difference to your carpal tunnel symptoms.
If stretching does NOT feel good to you it means one of two things:
1. You are stretching muscles that are already stretched more than they like. (They are over-stretched.) Those tend to be muscles on your upper back, for instance. The muscles on the front side of your body are typically the ones that need to be stretched.
2. You have tight muscles that need to be relaxed before you can stretch comfortably. Massage can help with this. Again, typically those will be the muscles on the front of the body even though they’re not the ones who are ‘complaining.’
Using therapeutic massage and stretching together may be just “what the doctor ordered” (if only the doctor knew) to help you get rid of your carpal tunnel pain! 🙂