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Carpal tunnel exercises
Body Part:
Hand
Equipment:
Mini Massage Ball & Mini Foam Roller
Level:
Beginner
Get a Grip on Wrist Pain with These 10-Minute Carpal Tunnel Exercises
Do you remember when you could work all day at your keyboard, and all your fingers felt was the clicking of the keys? When you would drive your car, your hands felt the force of the steering wheel, and that was it? Back when you could turn your key in the door, the lock clicked, and you didn’t give door-opening another thought? Those were the days before you had carpal tunnel syndrome. And you weren’t painfully aware of performing simple activities.
You’re not alone in suffering through daily operations because of wrist pain. Worldwide, carpal tunnel syndrome is the most common form of nerve compression1), affecting over 8 million people each year. It is estimated that carpal tunnel syndrome costs employers millions in medical costs and lost productivity.
Carpal tunnel syndrome occurs when your median nerve is compressed. This lengthy nerve, which runs through your forearm, carpal tunnel, and into all of your fingers except your pinky, is responsible for sensation in your fingers and controls the movement of your hands. Activities that require repetitive hand motion (like typing, working with tools, playing certain musical instruments and sports) can irritate your tendons and cause swelling. The result is less space in your carpal tunnel and pressure on the median nerve.
Symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome include pain, burning, numbness, tingling hands or tingling arms. You may also experience shock-like sensations in your fingers or weakness in your hands which can lead to dropping objects or not being able to perform smaller manual tasks like unscrewing the top from a bottle.
You can alleviate carpal tunnel pain quickly and easily with our carpal tunnel exercises. We’ve developed a routine that only takes 10 minutes and you can do it anywhere. All you need is our mini massage ball and mini foam roller. Check out our YouTube video below or scroll down to get step-by-step instructions on how to perform our carpal tunnel exercises.
Foam Rolling Wrist Massages
To perform our carpal tunnel massages, you’ll need our mini massage ball and mini foam roller. You can perform these wrist massages on the floor or on a table.
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Massage 1: Mini Ball Wrist Massage
- Place the bottom of your affected wrist on the mini massage ball.
- Make small circular motions around the top of your forearm to your wrist and palm, exploring the area for tender spots.
- When you discover a tender spot, place your free hand on top of your wrist and apply pressure until you reach between 8 and 9 on your personal pain scale.
- Make small circular motions on the tender area for about 1 minute.
- Continue exploring the area for other tender spots and repeat.
- Finish.
Massage 2: Mini Foam Roller Wrist Massage
Roll slowly. Spend about 2 minutes on each side.
- Place the bottom of your affected hand on the mini foam roller so that it’s under your fingertips.
- Place your free hand on top of the affected hand and apply pressure until you reach between 8 and 9 on your personal pain scale.
- Maintaining consistent pressure, roll slowly in the direction of your elbow.
- Keep the pressure consistent by moving your free hand with the foam roller.
- When you reach your elbow, you’re finished.
- Turn your hand over and repeat the foam roll massage on the other side.
Wrist Stretch
Part I
- Get down on your hands and knees.
- Rotate your affected hand outward until your fingers are pointing toward your knee. Make sure your thumb is as close to your hand as possible.
- Lock your elbow, press your hand against the floor, and move your upper body backward until you feel a stretch in your wrist.
- Keep walking backwards on your knees until the stretch intensifies to between 8 and 9 on your personal pain scale.
- Hold for about 2 minutes.
Part II
- Walk your knees further back until your palm comes up off the floor. Keep your fingers flat on the floor.
- Gently pull your thumb closer to your hand. You’ll feel a stretch in your wrist.
- On each exhale, increase the intensity of the stretch until you reach between 8 and 9 on your personal pain scale.
- Hold for about 2 minutes.
- Leave the stretch slowly and shake your hand.
put the squeeze on
Perform our carpal tunnel exercises 6 days a week for a 3-week sprint. When your wrist pain subsides, you can stop exercising. If it persists, continue until the pain is alleviated.
Sources & Studies
- ↑1 Padua, L., Coraci, D., Erra, C., Pazzaglia, C., Paolasso, I., Loreti, C., Caliandro, P., & Hobson-Webb, L. D. (2016). Carpal tunnel syndrome: clinical features, diagnosis, and management. The Lancet. Neurology, 15(12), 1273–1284. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1474-4422(16)30231-9.
The Best Exercises and Tips Against Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
We've got your back! Download our FREE PDF guide featuring our 6 most effective exercises for getting rid of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.
All gain. No pain.
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