Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Treatment: 3 best exercises for CTS | Doc Cherry

Imagine how difficult it would be if your hands cannot hold the things it needs to hold and do the things that matters most in this life. How hard it would be. Have you noticed that your hands became weak? That you started dropping things? Are your symptoms worse at night? Do you find that shaking your hand and running it under warm water improve your condition? Do you have numbness or tingling sensation in your thumb, index, middle and half of your ring finger? I can help you. So watch until the end of this video so you can save on medication and health bills in treating this condition. Greetings to everyone. This is Dr. Cherian Banggoy, Doctor of Physical Therapy and today we are going to talk about Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, its causes, symptoms and three home exercises that you can do to make you feel better. But before we proceed, if you haven't subscribed yet in my channel, please click the subscription button below so you will be updated with my latest videos on free health topics for you and your family, free home exercise programs for different musculoskeletal and neuromuscular conditions and free secrets and tips on different conditions that would not only save you your time but your money as well. Going back to Carpal Tunnel Syndrome or CTS, do you know that 50 out of 1,000 people in the general population are diagnosed with CTS? Do you know that we women are more prone to developing CTS compared to men because we tend to have smaller wrists? And do you know that CTS mostly affects that of the older population? But do you also know that mobile and computer gaming can also predispose one to having Carpal Tunnel Syndrome? You might be wondering why. Well, online gaming such as Dota, Mobile Legends and all the other stuff would require you to do repetitive and continuous wrist flexion that over time would lead to inflammation of soft tissue structures and thus compression of the median nerve. By now you might be wondering what really happens to your hands when you are diagnosed with Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. Well, I will discuss this to you now in detail. Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is a compression of the at the level of the wrist which would result to hand pain, numbness and tingling of the thumb, the index, middle finger and then the lateral side of your ring finger which would result to decreased strength of your hands as you do usual hand activities such as holding a glass of water among many others. It is considered as the most common nerve condition affecting the upper extremity. However, when do you need to have yourself checked and evaluated? Well, you need to have yourself checked if you have Carpal Tunnel Syndrome on both hands because usually this affects only one hand at a time and involvement of both hands can indicate other underlying medical conditions such as hypothyroidism, diabetes and rheumatoid arthritis. Process of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is actually because of repetitive wrist flexion and extension due to computer and mobile phone use among many others, vibratory actions caused by different tools such as a jackhammer, pregnancy, obesity and women who are nearing their menopausal stage due to the effects of hormones. Aside from the symptoms that you feel, to further help with the diagnosis, what we do in the clinics is a balance test. With this, I want you to maximally bend your elbow as shown and then put the dorsal aspect of your hand together. Try to maintain this position for one minute. If you will notice any tingling and numbness on the thumb, the index, middle and half of your ring finger, it is a positive test for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. But don't you worry, I got your back. I will teach you easy to follow exercises in a few minutes. Wrist flexion stretch. Straighten your arm and bend your wrist back as if signaling someone to stop. Use your opposite hand to apply gentle pressure and pull it towards you. Hold this for 15 seconds. Repeat three times. Wrist extensor stretch. Straighten your arm with the palm facing down and bend your wrist so that the fingers point down. Gently pull your hand towards the body. Hold this position for 15 seconds and then repeat three times. Next, do these exercises together with me. So make a fist, with your thumb outside your fingers. Hold it for seven seconds. Extend your fingers while keeping your thumb close to the side of your hand. Hold for seven seconds. Next, keep your fingers straight and extend your wrist. Bend it backwards towards your forearm. Hold for seven seconds. Next, keep your fingers and wrist in this position and extend your thumb. Keep your fingers wrist and thumb in extension and then turn your forearm palm up, as shown. And keep your fingers wrist and thumb extended and use the other hand to gently stretch your thumb, as shown. Maintain this position for seven seconds. Fully straighten all your fingers with your wrist straight. Hold this for seven seconds. Next is the hook position, as shown. Again, hold this position for seven seconds. Make a tight fist with your thumb over your fingers. Hold for seven seconds. Next, fully straighten all your fingers, as shown, and maintain for seven seconds. And do this position as if making a small letter C. Hold for seven seconds and bend your fingers at the middle joint, touching the fingers of your palm. Hold for seven seconds. Do these exercises three times a day or before any activity that involves gripping. Do these exercises to prevent worsening of symptoms that may eventually lead to surgery if not well treated. Besides doing the exercises, the following can also be done. The use of splints at night are encouraged. Our hands are more likely to bend while we are sleeping and the use of splints not only allows your wrist to be positioned in the correct way, but it can also help assure that no further damage on the median nerve can be done. However, you need to make sure that the splint is not too tight. Use of NSAIDs, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, if necessary, can also be used. Daily dose of vitamin B1, B6, and B12, or otherwise known as your B-complex, would enhance the recovery and repair of your When symptoms flare up, given that there is an inflammation, I would recommend that you put cold compressed at your wrist for 10 minutes upon tolerance. However, you should take note that ice therapy is contraindicated for patients who have hypersensitivity to cold or for those patients who have Raynaud's disease. Finally, know the costs and try to do everything in moderation. But if your livelihood requires frequent wrist flexion, just always remember to take breaks as needed. Thank you very much for watching. I hope that you find this video helpful. Please share it with your family, your friends, or even your sons and daughters whom you think Also, should you have any questions regarding hand pain or carpal tunnel syndrome, please feel free to comment down below and I will try to get back on you. This is again Doc Sherry. Stay healthy. God bless you.