Monday, March 28, 2011

An Overview of Easing Carpal Tunnel With Wrist Braces

By Tom Nicholson


If you've got carpal tunnel syndrome, the muscles and tendons in your hand that make using your hand so efficient and easy can be affected. Particularly, the median nerve is what is affected in carpal tunnel syndrome, and it travels down from the arm, through the wrist, and to the hand. If you have carpal tunnel syndrome, you'll find that if you suffer from inflammation, the median nerve is pressed upon, and this causes significant discomfort. It can range from relatively mild, such as tingling or slight numbness in the fingers, to very severe, including shooting pains that go all the way up the arm. If you suspect you may have carpal tunnel syndrome, get your doctor and get diagnosed; this is the best way to make sure your symptoms stay mild instead of increasing in severity.

The medical field has made great strides in treatment of carpal tunnel syndrome recently. This means that you as a sufferer of carpal tunnel syndrome can take advantage of these tools and treatments to alleviate the pain you have from this disorder. Among the easiest treatments to try are anti-inflammatory drugs that are available over the counter. These can help keep swelling down and will relieve some pressure and pain. Once the pressure on the median nerve in the wrist is relieved, symptoms should abate if not disappear altogether. Another of the treatments to be used in carpal tunnel syndrome are wrist braces. These can be used at night, for daytime use, or simply worn all the time to make sure the wrist is always stable and the injury is not exacerbated by overextending or flexing the wrist. In addition, stretching and strengthening exercises can help build muscle strength and stretch tendons so that you heal and strengthen at the same time. You can use any of these methods alone or in combination with the others to get relief from carpal tunnel syndrome symptoms.

As the medical field becomes increasingly more aware of methods of treatment, carpal tunnel sufferers can benefit from a number of tools to help relieve the pain they are experiencing.

Using anti-inflammatory medications to keep swelling down will relieve the pressure some may be having on their median nerve in the wrist. Wrist braces can be used either at night, during the day or during both times in order to help stabilize the wrist and keep the sufferer from injuring it further through flexion or overextension. Regular stretching and muscle exercises are a great way to help build back muscle strength and keep the tendons active while going through the healing process. Any one of these methods or a combination of many can help bring you the relief you are looking for when dealing with carpal tunnel symptoms.

When shopping for wrist braces for carpal tunnel you have many options. You may require a prescription from your doctor in order to have a wrist brace that will be covered by your private insurance company. Those who do not have private health insurance may want to find a cheaper alternative and can find many different wrist braces that will help with their symptoms without spending a great deal of money. Local pharmacies, medical equipment stores or even your doctor's office may have a variety of different wrist braces that you can try on to find the one that suits your needs best. If this is your first wrist brace purchase, you will want to make sure that you seek out help from a staff member to find the best fit possible for your wrist to maximize the benefits for your healing.

No matter where you get a wrist brace from, though, remember that that's just one part of your treatment. You'll also have to do stretching and strengthening excises, and over-the-counter or prescription anti-inflammatory medications may also help. If treatment is begun early enough and done right, you may escape your experience with carpal tunnel syndrome with minimal discomfort and disability.




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