Carpal Tunnel Syndrome won’t be cured by applying pain relief sprays, gels or ointments but here are four reasons they could possibly help.
1. Applying the gel or cream with your hands means that you are moving your hands or arms quite possibly in a different way than position than usual. Using your muscles in different ways can help relieve your symptoms.
2. By rubbing on the cream or ointment you are massaging your hands and arms. Massage increases your circulation and that helps reduce areas of pain and swelling. Massage is a natural healing technique. The pain-relief ointment may help distract you from your
carpal tunnel pain but the massage can actually make a difference. Many products say to “rub well.” That is always a good idea!
3. Almost every pain relief product that is applied to your skin acts to distract you from what’s going on under your skin. If the spray or ointment is powerful enough to cause you to feel a bit better for a while then perhaps you will use your muscles in ways that will help increase circulation and reduce swelling.
4. The “hot” products that contain capsaicin can help nervy pain that is caused by the nerves close to the surface of your skin. Some people cannot use this hot pepper treatment because it causes too much of a burning or stinging sensation.
Always be sure to follow the directions on the product label.
Typically pain relief products act as counter-irritants. They distract you from your pain by giving you a cold or hot sensation. Your brain can only process so many messages at a time so if the message from the product is stronger than the pain message, your brain will temporarily “forget” your carpal tunnel pain.