Prevention of carpal tunnel syndrome with exercises
Increasing strength and range of motion in your wrists and forearms will allow you to keep doing everyday repetitive movements without stiffness and pain. This will help preventing carpal tunnel syndrome.
You must do the following exercises to build strength and prevent injuries. These will help you get stronger wrists which can protect you from pain of carpal tunnel and will allow you to increase the speed of wrist movement either towards your body or away from you.
What are the exercises to prevent carpal tunnel syndrome?
Reverse wrist curls: How to do reverse wrist curls?
- Grab a light dumbbell, rest the back of your forearms flat on the bench and let your wrist hang over.
- Take the weight in your hand, lightly gripping it with all 5 fingers and curl your wrist up as far as it can go naturally, and then bring it back down slowly.
- Your motion should be comfortable during the exercise and try not to hyperextend the movement.
- Repeat this for 10-15 reps on each hand.
In beginning you may find this challenging, so pace yourself accordingly.
Wrist curl extension: how to do wrist curl extension exercise?
- Rest the front of your forearms flat on the bench with palms facing up and let your wrists fall over.
- Grab a light dumbbell with your palm and curl up towards your face
- As you bring the weight back down, let the dumbbell roll slightly to your fingertips.
- This helps in increasing your range of motion. The movement should be as even as possible, so lean back a bit with your upper body to help.
- Repeat this motion for 10-15 repetitions on each hand.
Radial and ulnar flexion: how to do exercises for radial and ulnar flexion?
- Take a dumbbell in your right hand and grip it firmly
- Adjust your wrists parallel to the ground with your forearms lying flat against the bench.
- Now, make a small movement to the right side.
- After 15 repetitions, now make the movement to the opposite direction (inward).
- You can do the exercise with both hands at the same time once you have improved your form.
- It’s important that this exercise be done slowly and deliberately to avoid any sudden jerks as it targets small ligaments and joints of your hand.
- Repeat this motion for 10-15 reps on each hand.
Ball squeezing: how to do ball squeezing?
- Take a tennis ball, and squeeze the ball in your hand for 5 seconds and then release it.
- Don’t forget to include your thumb while squeezing the ball.
- You should squeeze and hold in this position for 3 seconds each time and repeat this motion for 15 times on each hand.
- The best time to do this exercise might be while you are watching TV.
Kneeling forearm stretch
- To do this exercise, kneel down on a mat and place your palms on the mat in front of you such that your fingers are facing back towards your body.
- Now slowly start to sit back towards your heels, the goal being to sit on your heels while keeping your palms flat on the mat
- Hold yourself like this for 20-30 seconds.
Reverse kneeling forearm stretch
- It can be done by placing the backs of your hands on the mat so that palm is facing upward direction, in front of you with your fingers pointing towards your body.
- Like other exercises, now sit back towards your heels. You should feel a deep stretch at the top of your forearms.
- You should be careful while doing this exercise. Do not roll your hands off the mat.
- Keep holding this stretch position for 20-30 seconds.
Ulnar nerve stretch
- Touch your index finger to your thumb and flip your hands back as your bring your palms to your face.
Now, fit the circle you’ve made with your index finger and thumb around your eyes like goggles and keep holding yourself in this position for 20-30 seconds while doing your best to keep your back straight and your shoulders and neck from tensing up.
