Carpal Tunnel

[Originole1]

So I have been battling carpal tunnel for a little while now and it is getting to the point where I am having trouble sleeping at night. I am awakened every few hours as a result of both my hands/forearms being painfully numb. My doc says its a result of my weightlifting and I need to take an extended break...well as anyone that has a lifting routine knows that more than a couple of days off is a killer when you start back. I am by no means a bodybuilder, just trying to fight off father time and hang around as long as possible for my family.

Any home remedies I can try sans the usual anti-inflammatory meds and wrist wraps/splints?

 

[alaskanseminole]

I have it. It sucks. I haven't tried any home remedies; however, my mom also has it and wears night splints. She claims they help a lot as does her "stretching" exercises prescribed by her PT.

 

[ericram]

Have you had a nerve conduction test done? Seen a neurologist? You probably want to take this seriously as well you might actually need to use your hands sometimes in the future.

 

[ATLNole1]

Wear the night splints and talk to a PT about exercises you can do. I know a few guys at my gym that have done this and been able to avoid surgery so far and were able to start lifting again after a short break.

 

[fsu1jreed]

Have you had a nerve conduction test done? Seen a neurologist? You probably want to take this seriously as well you might actually need to use your hands sometimes in the future.

Do this as soon as possible........I would wake up with my whole left arm from the elbow down numb, well one time I woke up and the feeling never returned in my ring & pinky finger so I had to have elbow surgery (ulnar nerve transposition) due to pushing a wheelchair for 24+ years. I'm going to have to do the right arm sometime in the near future. I still haven't gotten all my feeling back but it's a lot better than it was.

 

[FSUTribe76]

A combo of glucosamine, aspirin, bromelaine, turmeric and B6. Not only will you be nicely seasoned for our alien overloads, it should help with the pain and inflammation.

 

[Originole1]

I haven't had the nerve testing yet but I also have severe elbow pain I have been chalking up to tendonitis.

I currently take glucosamine and B6 as part of my daily supplements. Will look into the other suggestions.

My wife just says I'm getting old.

Appreciate the advice.

 

[Huck Said]

I have dealt with this. About 10 years ago I was doing a couple hundred pushups a day. I was also into playing guitar a good bit, too, and one night while jamming I noticed that my pinky and ring fingers on my left hand were numb. I wasn't sure what the cause was - was it due to the position my wrist was in while playing...? I did some online research and found that the likely culprit was all the pushups; when doing them with an open palm, you have your wrist bent at an unnatural 90 degree angle, and with the added body weight, over time, that takes its toll on a lot of people. Some of the the comments I read online were from military drill instructors and they were the ones who cited the frequency of the injuries and attributed it to pushups. They suggested doing pushups on your fists instead, which doesn't put that stress on your wrists.

Incidentally, I was working in a hospital at the time and mentioned it to an occupational therapist. She informed me that if you're dealing with pain and/or numbness in your ring and pink fingers then it's actually Cubital Tunnel Syndrome and not Carpal Tunnel... BTW, I never got full feeling restored to my fingers and when I do bench presses in the gym, I try to be mindful of my wrists' position.

http://www.webmd.com/pain-management/cubital-radial-tunnel-syndrome

 

[riseboi]

Both forearms/hands and elbow pain? I've treated enough cases of "CTS" to know that it isn't always CTS. A thorough evaluation that includes your shoulders/neck by a physical therapist would be my suggestion.

FWIW, I am a physical therapist. Good luck.

 

[Garnet66]

I do something in my sleep to set mine off, and I wake up in a lot of pain. If I then put my splint wrap on, I get immediate relief and sleep the rest of the night without pain.

I'm not thrilled with the splint either, but it really helps me when I use it.

 

[fsuviv]

Wear a night splint, it really works.

 

[LT4PLY]

On top of the night splint (I use an ACE one) this thing really works: http://www.carpaldoctors.com/

I had it bad in my left hand and after a couple months using the CTRAC and the ace splint/brace at night I've been basically fine since. Every once in a while I feel it come on and I use the CTRAC for a couple days.

 

[cmanole]

Are you all familiar with Raynaud's syndrome and are you sure that's not what is causing some of your issues? I encourage you to read up on it just so you are aware. Probably not associated with your condition but it can't hurt to know about it...

Also, there is a supplement (amino acid actually) called L-Arginine that you can take that dilates your blood vessels and helps with the numbness, assuming it's vascular and not nerves. Also worth looking into. L-Arginine is also known as natural Viagra so it can't hurt to pop a few of them a day...

 

[Originole1]

On top of the night splint (I use an ACE one) this thing really works: http://www.carpaldoctors.com/

I had it bad in my left hand and after a couple months using the CTRAC and the ace splint/brace at night I've been basically fine since. Every once in a while I feel it come on and I use the CTRAC for a couple days.

This is very interesting. I certainly need some relief and will give it a shot as surgery is the last thing I want to do.

 

[HerdOfNoles]

Had the double whammy of carpal tunnel and ulna nerve decompression surgery.

Dr Rumama did my surgery, been fine every since.

BTW: why the muscles don't receive proper stimulation via the nerves the muscle will atrophy, like mine did. I had basically a skeleton hand. A finger pressed into the side of my hand could separate skin from bone(like fish or chicken)

The surgery fixed that. Took about 6 months to fully recover and I'm still regaining grip strength.

good luck to you.