Carpal Tunnel Wrist Braces – Good for you vs Harmful?
I’m often asked about the value of using carpal tunnel wrist braces, night splints, and other support devices that relieve carpal tunnel pain. My feelings are mixed, honestly. I see a lot of patients who’ve been prescribed to use a carpal tunnel wrist brace to alleviate their pain; they’re fitted by occupational therapists who typically design the brace so that your hand is immobilized. This reduces inflammation, which in turn reduces pain – which in itself is good, but when I hear the word “immobilize,” I feel uneasy. Any time a joint or muscle is immobilized, it begins to lose function.
The value of just reducing movement is not a cure for your carpal tunnel, cubital tunnel or whatever (they all are related) symptoms you have going on. There is value in the fact of using a brace or a night splint to rest the area. However, our bodies crave movement and motion, so, ultimately, this solution is a band aid instead of a cure. Focusing on postural muscle imbalance and the reasons which caused your body to get imbalanced caused carpal tunnel is the solution.
When your body remains in the same position, day after day, for too long – for instance when you have to sit in the car or in front of a computer for hours every day – a condition known as postural muscle imbalance can develop. Certain muscles become underdeveloped and gradually lose their function, while other muscles increase to compensate. Over time, these muscles will stop maintaining the normal S-curve of your spine and peripheral joints such as elbows, shoulders and wrists. This is what causes the symptoms of carpal tunnel.
If this vicious cycle isn’t broken, the damage will increase. If you end up losing the use of your hand for a few months or more due to carpal tunnel pain, it could affect your ability to provide for yourself and your family. Other symptoms that can accompany carpal tunnel pain include “frozen shoulder,” lower back pain, and headaches, and all of these have the same cause: Postural muscle imbalance.
It’s easy to dismiss these warnings as being overly alarmist, but the fact is that this is your health and your future. If you’re already caught in the cycle of carpal tunnel, you need to end it before it escalates, and the earlier the better. To stop carpal tunnel at the source, your only solution will be to regularly follow some simple postural muscle balance restoration exercises, so that wrist braces and night splints will no longer be necessary in the first place.
Tom Nicholson spends his time helping carpal tunnel sufferers. You can follow this link to learn more regarding carpal tunnel wrist braces.
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Tags: carpal tunnel, carpal tunnel cure, carpal tunnel exercise, carpal tunnel syndrome, carpal tunnel treatment, Disease, Exercise, Fitness, Health, injury, Medicine, Physical Therapy, Posture, Yoga
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