3 exercises to help prevent carpal tunnel syndrome
Symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome include numbness, tingling and pain in the fingers. Late stage symptoms may include permanent loss of sensation and muscle atrophy. A believed risk factor for developing carpal tunnel syndrome is repetitive wrist work. It's a good idea to exercise your hands and fingers and lift them from the keyboard once in a while.
Wrist stretch
- Reach your left arm out straight with the hand bent up.
- Use your right hand to push the left hand toward your body.
- Hold for 10 seconds.
- Let your left hand fall down.
- Use your right hand to push the left hand toward your body.
- Hold for 10 seconds.
- Repeat for your right wrist.
Another wrist stretch
- Close your hands into fists.
- Bend your fists down and toward your body.
- Hold for 10 seconds.
- Open up and spread your fingers while bending up toward the ceiling.
- Hold for 10 seconds.
Finger stretch
- Close your hand into a fist.
- Hold for 10 seconds.
- Open up and spread your fingers as far as you can.
- Hold for 10 seconds.
The hardest part is often to remember to actually take a break to do these kinds of exercises once in a while. We provide a software solution for this. Check it out here. These exercises, along with many others are included in the software.