How to treat Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

Did they just say you need a surgery? Don’t believe them!

If you already know how to train and eat, probably this section is the most important part of this website for you. Literally, there is barely anything useful on the internet, and that is kinda scary if I can be honest. We have the internet full of medical and fitness websites, forums and all the useless bullshit, while people just suffer and suffer, and sometimes end up undergoing some surgery, while the treatment actually does exist, and it is easily accessible and everybody can do it by themselves. For real! So don’t worry, science has always the answer!

The most common injury is tendonitis, or some call it tendinitis. Translated into a human language it means inflamed tendons. It happens when you overexert them, and they can’t regenerate. In contrast to the muscles, tendons heal much slower, and while you can recover from a super heavy workout in days, in tendon years the same would take weeks.

What is Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS)?

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is maybe the most common type of tendinitis. And it’s not a coincidence, as our lifestyle puts a huge pressure on wrists and fingers, especially for those whose profession requires them as well. It starts as a blunt pain in your wrist, sometimes on the top, sometimes on the bottom. This is a signal that you have to intervene, otherwise it is going to be much worse…much worse! As you reach this milestone, you will feel tingling in your fingers once in a while, work will be an ordeal, and if you think it won’t bother you in your sleep, then you are mistaken. It will fucking wake you up, because your wrist will be just numb and it will hurt as fuck!

After this, people realize that something is indeed not very kosher, and only now they go to the doctor, or just google their symptoms finding out they have brain cancer.

What will the doctors suggest?

  • physiotherapy with magnets
  • physiotherapy with a laser
  • surgery

I cannot emphasize enough: do not undergo surgery! It is extremely risky, and it will take months to heal…if it will heal. I’ve been working in medical fields for a while, so I am definitely not against medical science, but there is a much easier way, and I will show you how to forget this menace completely.

What can cause Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS)?

In order to understand the healing process you need to get familiar with what causes carpal tunnel syndrome. People sit in front of the computer, their wrists and fingers constantly engage in repetitive movements. Or people doing manual labour, especially that requires a lot of playing with fingers or grips. And then they go home, where is no rest for these tendons either, since they use their home computer or smartphone, moreover, they get even used during the workout!

Repetitive movements

Repetitive movements occur mostly at work, etc. In case of carpal tunnel syndrome usually with work on computer, too much typing, too much trackpad, mouse, etc., or even just a bad posture and poor ergonomics. Moreover, smartphones are a common cause too, if you use them often, hold them and type on them in wrong positions, and suddenly, the pain kicks in.

Overtraining

Yes, you can easily overtrain your tendons with bad exercises or with poor execution, but most commonly: with very frequent application of both. You think you can get Popeye arms, and train forearms like crazy? Baaam, carpal tunnel syndrome!

Strains and sprains

It’s not a coincidence that usually the fitness-related tendinitis is also called repetitive strain injury. Many people think that they can maximize their exercise movement range by over-stretching the muscle, and while it also hurts the muscle itself yielding no benefit at all, it can be fatal for your tendons. This is why it is extremely important to execute every exercise properly, thus you can avoid any repetitive strain injury, and hear about them only from your uneducated friends.

The remedy

The most important part is prevention…yeah, it’s a cliche, but still. These methods work, and I have developed and tested them on myself. In my case, the pain did never go away, and regardless of how long I kept my tendons rested, no improvement occurred. That is why it is crucial to engage your tendons in activity, because only if you use them, only then they start to synthesise collagen again, and only then it will heal, and only then the pain will go away.

How to prevent it?

  • get a more ergonomic mouse and keyboard
  • straighten your wrist’s position during work
  • relax your wrist and fingers
  • do mild stretches and take breaks
  • use wrist wraps when pushing heavy
  • moderate forearm exercises, don’t go to overstretched (unnatural) range of motion either
  • quit smoking
  • cut down omega-6 fatty acids (sunflower oil, grape seed oil), use healthier oils
  • sleep enough (seriously, it’s the most important dietary supplement ever)

You may not even realize, but your cool-looking mouse and keyboard can literally make you disabled. Ergonomic tools are one of your most important investments. The wrist’s position should always be straightened, otherwise it gets unnatural pressure, which is not ideal even without CTS symptoms, but with them it should be completely avoided. Some people keep their wrists and fingers constantly flexed without even noticing. This may lead to long-term damages, so just pay attention, and then your subconscious will quickly adopt the healthy state. Breaks are always welcomed, especially if you use your wrists a lot, just make some movements with them, stretch a little (not too much!). When pushing your wrists can be under a lot of pressure; thin bars can put direct pressure on your median nerve, while the thick ones require more wrist and forearm engagement. Wrist wraps help amazingly to alleviate the pressure, thus allowing you to train without pain and to prevent injuries. Your forearms are used in your daily activities, as well as in gym exercises too. Not only in upper body exercises, but they are actively engaging even in squats, etc. Also, when people directly train them, they tend to overstretch them for the bigger movement range: don’t do that! Smoking decreases blood flow and increases inflammatory activities. I mean, it’s unhealthy on default, but when it’s with a little exaggeration about life and death, then it’s the perfect opportunity to get rid of an addiction, thus building a stronger personality as well. Omega 6 fatty acids increase inflammatory activities in your body. There is nothing wrong with using sunflower oil once in a while, or using grape seed oil (for example for steaks due to its higher smoke point), but in general, try to use them as less as possible, and look for more balanced fatty acid profiles, like olive oil. Check the Ingredients page for more info, you won’t regret it. I cannot emphasise enough the importance of sleep. You may get by by sleeping less, but you will eventually pay the price for it. 8h is good, seriously, just do it. And don’t tell me you don’t want it, lol!

How to treat it?

Phase 1.

  • straighten your wrist’s position during work
  • relax your wrist and fingers (some people unconsciously keep them flexed)
  • take breaks, very mild stretches only
  • NO forearm exercises
  • use wrist splint for work
  • use wrist splint for sleep, especially if you have numbing-tingling night attacks that wake you up
  • icing and anti-inflammatory creams and medication ONLY at the beginning, as long as it is still swollen

When you reach the 1st healing phase there are two things to keep in mind: leaving your tendons to rest and then taking care of the inflammation. Inflammation is a natural process that is designed to provide the much needed blood flow for the injured tendon, however, the swollen tendon tissue may damage your nerve tissue, and that damage could be irreversible. Stretching is not recommended, only very mild ones, because your tendon is very sensitive and vulnerable right now. This is why ditch the forearm exercises, and use wrist splint as often as possible, because this phase is about nothing else but healing. You can easily battle inflammation with icing and anti-inflammatory creams. I would not quite recommend anti-inflammatory tablets, but if the problem is way too severe, couple of days of tablets won’t do any harm. Keep in mind that while anti-inflammatory treatments reduce inflammation, they also inhibit healing, since they interfere with collagen synthesis, thus with rebuilding the damaged tendon tissue itself.

Phase 2.

  • increase the circulation (massage, putting into warm water, sauna, etc.)
  • gradually start to engage them in exercises gently (avoid exercises that cause pain, use wrist wraps when pushing heavy)
  • use wrist straps when pulling
  • gradually decrease the wrist splint time as your condition allows it

And this is why the 2nd phase of healing is about actual healing. The 1st phase was your Stalingrad to stop the nazi inflammation, and now is your turn to march all the way to Berlin! Now is the time to rebuild your war-torn tendons. At first, increase the circulation by every way possible. Massage your wrists and palms, drown them into a warm water, go to sauna, etc. Sauna is an excellent way for “this type of cardio”. You have to realize that increased collagen synthesis that is desperately required for your recovery will be stimulated by stimulating the given tendon itself, hence you will have to engage it in activities again. If workout is too much for them, you can use a rice bucket and then you can at least finally unleash your weirdest fisting-fingering fetishes. Another way to alleviate your tendons from unnecessary pressure during workout right now is using wrist straps for pulling exercises.

And that’s it, if you pass these steps, you can gradually return back to the normal, and can be stronger/faster/etc. more than ever! Happy healing!

What about light therapy?

Light therapy won’t do any harm, but it is mostly intended to kill malignant microorganisms on a healing scar, it’s not some healing magic beam. Basically a flashlight could do the job better, since it provides more warmth.

How about visiting a chiropractor?

Dude, I love Harry Potter too, but magic doesn’t exist, and giving tons of money to charlatans is a transgression against civilization.