If you have carpal tunnel syndrome you might like to know the connection between your legs and your wrists. There really is one!
Posture that is collapsing–“forward head”posture–causes carpal tunnel syndrome.
And what does that have to do with your feet?
Because forward head posture puts pressure on the muscles, blood vessels and nerves that “feed” your arm and hand. It also strains the muscles in your upper back which can refer pain into your hand and wrist–your carpal tunnel area.
But what does that have to do with your feet?
- Poor posture with a forward head causes a lot of strain and muscle imbalance in your legs. Stand for about 5 minutes and then pay attention to your feet. If you notice that
most of your weight is felt in your toes, rather than in toes, heels and the outer edge, that means you are collapsing forward.
When your legs are back in muscular balance, your posture will feel more relaxed with less strain on your back and upper body. Less upper body strain means less carpal tunnel pain. (It’s all attached.)
2. Another relationship to your feet and carpal tunnel pain is flat feet or fallen arches because it can actually throw you into forward-head posture. But you may be able to correct that naturally to a point or start wearing a good arch support in your shoes.
How can you get your legs into muscular balance and get rid of the poor posture?
You can take classes in movement which use all of your leg muscles, such as yoga or tai chi or other strengthening. You can assess which muscles are “tight” and massage them to relax them or go to a professional massage therapist.
You can stretch ALL sides of your legs to notice which areas are the most tight and do gentle, gradual stretches.
Hint: Hamstrings are a typical short muscle group.
When your legs and muscles are more relaxed and balanced, your posture will be better and you will have less muscle strain around your neck, shoulders and back. That means fewer symptoms and less pain in your whole body as well as your carpal tunnel area.