How to Manage Carpal Tunnel Pain

It has been quite a while since I was diagnosed with Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. At the time I was diagnosed the pain was so bad, I could hardly function in my daily life. I was scared that surgery would be my only option but I didn’t have the time nor the insurance or money to be able to have surgery. I began my journey to find ways to help manage the carpal tunnel pain so I could get back to my daily life. What I have found has over the last few months dramatically decreased the pain and I am able to be more involved in my life! According to WebbMD, most carpal tunnel, if treated correctly can go away on it’s own. So I’m excited to share my secrets with you on how to manage carpal tunnel pain! Hopefully you can be pain free soon too!

Natural ways to manage Carpal Tunnel Pain

1. Limit offending activities to relieve carpal tunnel pain.

Take note as to what you do each day which makes your carpal tunnel pain or wrist pain the worst. Whatever causes the most pain, be sure to limit those activities the best you can. For me it was washing dishes, crocheting and using the computer. I asked for more help with the dishes from the husband, took a hiatus from crocheting, and I had to limit the hours I spent on the computer each day and designated a specific day when I took the entire day off.

2. Topical Pain rubs to relieve carpal tunnel pain.

Sometimes using a topical pain cream rub such as Noxicare or other natural anti-inflammatory rubs or muscle rubs, can help manage some of the more upfront throbbing pain. It doesn’t help eliminate the pain, but does help calm it and make each day a little more manageable.

3. Hot and Cold Therapy to relieve carpal tunnel pain.

Using hot and cold therapy can also help with managing your carpal tunnel pain, or just average wrist pain. You can use heating pads and ice packs or my favorite rice packs. I love rice pack heating pads the most because they are reusable, can be used for both hot and cold, and you then aren’t tied down to a power outlet. Rice packs can be heated in the microwave for a minute or two or cooled in the freezer for 1-2 hours. Plus they come in a lot of fun fabric choices or you can make your own.

4. Wear Wrist Braces at Night to relieve carpal tunnel pain.

My Doctor gave me a generic wrist brace to wear at night. it was designed to prevent my wrist from bending while I sleep, thus pinching off nerves and preventing proper blood flow. After using the brace for a few weeks it did help relieve some of the pain. But it wasn’t until my husband gave me two sports grade Safe-T wrist braces that I noticed a big difference. After sleeping with the higher grade wrist brace, I then found a lot of my pain went away and was soon able to increase the amount of time spent on the activities I previously had to limit in tip #1, and the increase in activities did not increase my carpal tunnel pain. I was even able to start a little crocheting again!

5. Use Wrist Supporting Computer Accessories to relieve carpal tunnel pain.

If you spend a lot of time on the computer, one of the most important things you can do is use proper wrist supports with the keyboard and mouse. If your wrists are properly supported while you are doing the activity that causes the pain, then it is least likely to cause more pain. Also you should ensure that you have as many ergonomic accessories as possible for the same reason. I miss using a Desktop because I loved my ergonomic keyboard. I had a lot less pain when I used that specialized keyboard than when I spend hours on my laptop.

6. Use anti-inflammatory pain relievers to relieve carpal tunnel pain.

Now, most people want to remove all pain without taking any medication. And that is quite noble. But if you are in severe pain, you body cannot heal itself when there is such inflammation. One of the first things you need to do is reduce that inflammation. Not only does it help with the pain, but it also reduces the strain on the median nerve, thus allowing it to heal. So including a good anti-inflammatory in your regime is a must! There are certain anti-inflammatory foods and anti-inflammatory essential oils that can help too if you are completely opposed to any drug.

7. Include Exercises to reduce carpal tunnel pain

There are a few exercises you can do each day that will help relieve the pressure on the nerves that are causing pain. It strengthens your wrists and helps to relieve pressure on the median nerve. Do it daily and you will find improvements in your wrist pain. It is also great for preventing any future issues with Carpal Tunnel.

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Using all these methods together have dramatically decreased my carpal tunnel pain to where I’m now back to living my life. At first it didn’t remove all the pain, but after doing all these tips for a while, I now can go months without pain. I now hardly notice any carpal tunnel pain unless I have really over done the typing on the computer or the crocheting. I still don’t have the same strength in my hands that I did before, like I can’t open bottles, soda bottles, jars of pickles, etc without help, but at least I don’t have the constant throbbing pain!

I hope these tips can help you better manage your carpal tunnel as well!

Do you suffer from carpal tunnel or wrist pain? 

What have you found that helps you manage your carpal tunnel pain?