Do you have carpal tunnel pain? Let’s look at some causes for pain and other symptoms in your arm, hand and wrist.
First off, symptoms like pain, numbness or tingling, don’t happen without a reason, especially not carpal tunnel discomfort.
We are built with certain muscles for certain jobs and all of our muscles work together to keep us pain-free!
We have smaller muscles and larger muscles. Small muscles are designed to do small jobs. Large muscles are more powerful and can take care of bigger jobs.
Sometimes we should use our larger muscles for a job.
When we use small muscles instead, our smaller muscles get strained. Then we end up with something like carpal tunnel syndrome.
Here’s an example: Suppose you are building a box. You are swinging a hammer. But, you aren’t using your whole arm to swing, with your wrist straight. Instead, you are moving your hand at your wrist (the carpal tunnel area) to get all the motion to move the hammer.
That is not efficient movement. You can’t get as much power into your swing. But, worse than that, instead of using your large powerful arm muscles, you are using the smaller muscles around your wrist and lower arm.
Your wrist muscles are doing the work and that is not the type of work they are designed for. You end up with carpal tunnel area pain or get diagnosed with carpal tunnel syndrome.
Here’s another example: You have large leg
muscles with joints. What if you tried to walk by using only your hip muscles without your knees? What if you tried walking without bending your ankles?
Try and see. Certain muscles for certain jobs.
Each muscle in our body is attached to two bones, one on either side of a joint. We are built this way so we can move.
If we use only some of our muscles and not all of them, and if we are using the few we do use incorrectly (for jobs they are not designed for) we will end up with pain in our wrist (and elsewhere, too.)
Most of us use only around 60 of the hundreds of muscles that we have. 🙁 We get in the habit of not moving or moving inefficiently.
This makes the muscles that we do use work too hard. They get strained, and you end up with carpal tunnel pain.
What is the solution?
Rather than only using crutches like ergonomic equipment (which may seem to help carpal tunnel pain in the short run) practice ways to use all of your muscles.
>> Practice moving in many different directions. Stretch the muscles in the front of your body. Strengthen the muscles on the back side of your body.
>> Take “movement breaks” instead of “coffee breaks.” C’mon–don’t be shy.
>> Watch TV standing up, while stretching the front of your body and strengthening your legs. March in place and pump your arms.
>> Swing your arms from your shoulders with your thumbs pointing up, as though you are going to shake hands with someone.
Simple, easy changes in the way you use the muscles in your arms, legs and body will make a huge difference in how much carpal tunnel pain or discomfort you have.
But you have to try it to find out.
And, please remember: If you’re not used to moving all the rest of your muscles, start slowly and work up to more and more movement gradually.
That way, you won’t get sore from moving too much before your muscles adapt to being active again.
You used to move all of your muscles when you were a child.
You can get there again!
There’s much more information for you to discover at Carpal Tunnel Tool Kit. Please click the link to learn how to get rid of your carpal tunnel symptoms naturally and forever!