Dr. Slava Shut

Thousands of people are afflicted with carpal tunnel syndrome symptoms every year. While many legitimately do suffer from CTS, sometimes the symptoms can be very close to another disease. Another common disorder is Double Crush Syndrome, and the symptoms are fairly similar to those of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.

Welcome to Topic Thursday, where we discuss something specific about business, finance, health, or life in general. Today, we’re going to talk about pain in the extremities due to common nerve problems.

The Central Nervous System

Whether you have Carpal Tunnel Syndrome or Double Crush Syndrome, you’re likely to experience pain, numbness or tingling in your upper extremities. This discomfort occurs along the path of your neural network. Your neural network is the web of nerves that innervates your body. Nerves do a lot of different things for you when they’re working together properly. When it comes to Carpal Tunnel Syndrome or Double Crush Syndrome, nerves carry electrical signals from your brain to everything else in your body.

Electrical signals carried by the nerves are useful for activating your skeletal muscles, which you use to move your body. Everything you can voluntarily move with intent is activated by the nervous system. When the nervous system is damaged, injured, or symptomatic in some other way, it could effect how you feel in your arms, your shoulders, your neck, back, and almost any other area on your body.

If there’s something causing discomfort with a nerve, it can cause serious problems in your day to day. You might notice that a formerly nagging, but tolerable pain is intensifying. You may experience weakness, numbness, or tingling. Whatever your diagnosis, whether it’s Double Crush Syndrome or Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, there are some things you can do to alleviate your symptoms. Over time, you might not even notice the symptoms anymore at all. 

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Home Remedies

Regardless of which one you might be suffering from, there are a few exercises you can do at home to help alleviate some of the discomfort of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome of Double Crush Syndrome symptoms. It’s recommended that you stop these exercises immediately if you experience additional pain or discomfort. As always, never start a personal fitness or self-treatment program without the guidance of your primary care physician.

If you’re healthy enough to work on this at home, here are a few exercises you can do to help alleviate some of the symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome or double crush syndrome.

Open Palm Wall Stretch

Stand up straight and tall with your right shoulder about a foot from a wall. Rotate your wrist so that your open palm is touching the wall next to you. 

From this position, carefully turn your head away from the wall. Hold the position for 3-5 seconds, and relax. Repeat this stretch for multiple repetitions daily to help with your neuromobility.

Don’t forget the other arm; you may only have symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome or double crush syndrome on one side, but it’s best to increase your overall flexibility and mobility than to try to target a specific limb or joint.

Closed Fist Wall Stretch

As with the Open Palm Wall Stretch, start by standing with good posture next to the wall. Instead of keeping your hand open, you’ll tuck your thumb into your palm and wrap your fingers tightly around it. Your hand should look like a fist with your thumb inside it.

Brace the thumb side of the fist against the wall this time instead of your open palm. When you turn your head, the stretch you might feel is slightly different than the one for the Open Palm Wall Stretch. The reason for this is you have two columns of nerves going through your arms. One side innervates the radial side, while the other nerve column innervates the ulnar side.

If either of these columns, or the branches coming off of them, become inflamed, damaged, pinched, stuck, or otherwise obstructed, you could experience some of the symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome or double crush syndrome. 

If you experience pain during or after these stretches, STOP IMMEDIATELY and consult your doctor. Stretching isn’t supposed to be painful, and your nerves shouldn’t be causing you pain.

Do you suffer from symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome or double crush syndrome? A physical therapist can help you find some relief from symptoms associated with repetitive motion injuries and strains. Don’t put it off and suffer. Contact my team to set up a consultation with me, and let’s get you back to the healthiest version of you. The time is now!