The carpal tunnel is the place in your wrist where nerves, blood vessels and other things pass through to your hand. If there is swelling in the ‘tunnel’ and it presses on nerves and causes symptoms then your doctor might say, “You have carpal tunnel syndrome.”
Maybe. Or maybe not.
A syndrome is a bunch of symptoms. Symptoms are things like weakness, pain, numbness, burning or nervy sensations.
Sometimes what seems to be CTS is actually not. Often it’s muscles that are causing symptoms that make the doctor think of CTS.
But lots of times doctors think
patients have CTS when it’s really muscles in the patients’ arm, chest or neck causing the pain in their hands and wrists.
Unfortunately, most doctors didn’t learn much about how muscles can cause pain symptoms in med school. They learned mostly about meds and usually very little about how bodies work–WHY they get pain and dysfunction–or about how to help patients get better naturally.
They just don’t understand, poor dears.
Your muscles can cause all the the symptoms of CTS. We have lots of posts here to help you figure out what’s causing your carpal tunnel symptoms.
Hi John, You are absolutely right about taking breaks to relax your hands, arms and fingers. The only thing is when you squeeze a ball you are doing the same movements that are getting you into pain in the first place.
Much better to stretch your hands and fingers in the opposite direction of the way you usually use them.
Open your hands. Spread your fingers. Rotate your wrists while they are straight. Wave ‘bye bye’ and hello. Keep your muscles moving in many different directions and that will keep your muscles happier and you will have less hand pain naturally.
Kathryn
The Pain Relief Coach
Take regular, disciplined break to relax the fingers and hands, Perform simple relaxing exercise to relieve the strains on the fingers and hands. Try using a squeezable grip ball.