Hi everyone! My "Small Measures with Ashley" post is up over at Design Sponge. This week I'm talking about making your own cleaning products. We're gearing up for our big "Nugget Warming" tomorrow. Should be a grand time. Now, if I could only get the pregnancy-induced carpal tunnel syndrome to leave my hands, all would be well. In the meantime, I've turned to acupuncture, BenGay, Tiger Balm, rigid nighttime arm braces, ice water soaks, and hand rubs. I might give chiropractic treatments, Rolfing, or whatever else I can find a shot next week. During one of the busiest times of my life before my due date, I'm seriously debilitated by what are basically crippled, frozen feeling hands. If any of you have tips or suggestions for handling carpal tunnel naturally, I'd LOVE to hear about them!
Otherwise, I'll be back with pictures from our bash. Hope your weekend, whatever it holds, is just as glorious as ours promises to be!!!
*Image from here.
13 comments:
Massage. I had that problem once due to repetitive work and a massage found a knot in my pectoral and one just below my elbow, once they were worked out no more problem!
Warm wax bath might make your hands feel better. Not only does it warm your hands but makes them nice and smooth as well and you can put your feet in it too. I do stretches for my carpal tunnel syndrome though mine is not that bad yet. Taking a break from the usual things you do also helps.
I echo the "take a break from the usual things you do" comment. When I was pregnant (I gained 60 pounds and my son was born at 12 pounds!) I also developed carpal tunnel. Tried acupuncture and wrist braces. The acupuncture didn't seem to help but the braces at night helped a bit. The only thing that made any difference was trying to relax and fill my days with low key activities, acknowledging that time as a time for inner preparation for a new babe. Massage never hurts either! Blessings to you and yours.
I echo the "take a break from the usual things you do" comment. When I was pregnant (I gained 60 pounds and my son was born at 12 pounds!) I also developed carpal tunnel. Tried acupuncture and wrist braces. The acupuncture didn't seem to help but the braces at night helped a bit. The only thing that made any difference was trying to relax and fill my days with low key activities, acknowledging that time as a time for inner preparation for a new babe. Massage never hurts either! Blessings to you and yours.
I had the same thing with both pregnancies. Don't hate me, but it continued during breastfeeding as well. Whatever makes it feel better for you is best, it will eventually go away.
Two things- massage and Topricin. I have nerve problems in my arm and hand and trigger point massage has been SO helpful. Topricin is a homeopathic pain relief cream that is amazing! The company started out specializing specifically with CTS. The stuff works wonders. Plus, it's totally natural and gentle and the folks who formualted it and run the company are really sweet! The company is Topical Biomedics. Hope you find this helpful and hope you find some relief!!!
Two things- massage and Topricin. Trigger point massage has helped me SO much with nerve issues in my arm and hand. Topricin is a homeopathic pain cream that works wonders! It is gentle and natural and SO effective. Plus the folks who formulated it and run the company are really sweet! The company is Topical Biomedics. If you can't find it in a local store, you can order direct from them. Hope you find this helpful and find some much needed relief!
Best wishes!
I found the best relief for me came from doing a series of wrist stretches from my aikido practice - they seem to be more involved and able to get at more of the wrist than the usual stretches that were suggested to me. There's a list here of some of them that seems to get at the main ideas, since they're a bit hard to explain in text - http://www.aikido-world.com/highlights/technical%20_tips/wrist-list.htm.
I have had chronic tendonitis in both hands, wrists, and forearms since I was 14. It's been under control for years, but flared up again in my third trimester of pregnancy. I echo some of the above commenters: limit your workload. Pregnancy triggers a hormone that loosens your tendons so that the pelvis can stretch to accomodate the baby, so repetitive strain injuries are far easier to develop. Hopefully your pain will dissipate once you give birth, but for now take it easy. Once tendonitis is chronic and severe, it never fully leaves and you have to be careful about how you use your arms for the rest of your life.
In terms of natural ways of dealing with it, I saw several physiotherapists and occupational therapists who taught me to use my arms differently. It's a matter of transferring the work to larger muscles - from your fingers and wrists and even forearms up to your biceps, shoulders and back. I've found practices such as massage and yoga to help with simple awareness of which muscles I'm using. Posture makes a HUGE difference.
To end this mammoth comment, one exercise is to hold your fingers close together and then open them as slowly as you can, taking up to 10 minutes to get your hand flat. It feels weird but it trains your muscles to move more smoothly. Good luck!
while it's not a natural treatment, if it's debilitating you might want to consider getting a cortisone shot so you can get some immediate relief...
CTS is a result of the tunnel through which the nerve passes from your fingers up your arm being restricted. It is a very narrow tunnel naturally and if anything causes swelling, this further reduces the opening of this "tunnel" and puts pressure on the nerve. Many pregnant women retain water and "swell" which causes restrictions in this narrow area and this is often the cause of this condition during pregnancy. Anything you can do to reduce the swelling especially by watching your salt, etc. will not only result in overall reduction in swelling of all your extremities (like ankes, etc.) will help with the CTS. And the splints at night @ night.
I used to wrap each of my fingers in a full-body cast of packing tape. I could still type, but it kept the knuckles from seizing up.
Then I quit that job. Because, duh.
I had debilitating carpal tunnel syndrome during pregnancy and even past my son's first birthday. I've been taking 100-200mg of B6 daily for over a year now and only occasionally have wrist pain (though it's usually when I've overdone it, like painting for six hours). I'm pretty sure B6 is ok'd for early pregnancy (not sure of the max dosage), but you may want to check it out. It did take about a month for the B6 treatment to start working and my symptoms do come back if I forget to take my vitamins for a few days. Hope you can relax too and feel better soon.
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