The Art of Balanced Living

Self Massage for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

Carpal tunnel syndrome is a condition that causes numbness, tingling and pain in the wrists and hands. It is caused by swelling of the tissue that surrounds the median nerve in the wrist.  The median nerve shares a small space with many tendons and can easily become compressed when the tendons swell.

If your condition is acute (swelling and severe sharp pain lasting less than two weeks) you’ll need to use ice on it. I suggest filling a Styrofoam cup with water and freezing it. You can peel back the Styrofoam at the top of the cup exposing some of of the ice. Massage your wrist and palm gently with the exposed ice for no longer than fifteen minutes. Remember to always keep the ice in motion. I think it’s best to move it in small circular motion. If you don’t like the idea of using a Styrofoam cup there are productsthat you can buy for ice massage.

If your condition is chronic (dull steady pain lasting longer than two weeks) massage it without the ice. When doing self massage I usually use a knobble–I think this is easier on my hands–but you can uses your fingers, thumb and knuckles also.

Lay your forearm on a flat surface or on your lap with the palm of your hand facing up. Start about an inch and a half from the crease of the elbow. You never want to massage in the area at the crease of your elbow because there are blood vessels and nerves close to the surface there that could be damaged by massage. Start at the inside edge of your forearm about an inch and a half from the crease of your elbow and use your fingertips or knobble to make circular strokes across your forearm. Your going medial to lateral so your running parallel to the crease in your elbow. Now move down your arm a little and do the same thing again. Continue this down the length of your arm to the wrist. Now place you fingers or knobble an inch and a half from the crease of your elbow again in the center of your forearm. Press down at moderate pressure and move your tool back and forth a few times. Do this down the length of your arm stopping about two inches from the wrist.  Do this two to three times. Massage the palm of the hand with small circular strokes paying close attention to the base of the palm. Bend your elbow so that your hand is raised up and place your thumb at the base of your palm on the medial side and your fingers on the back of your hand directly opposite your hand. With your fingers find the area between the bones that run up to your little finger and ring finger. Now pinch or squeeze your thumb and fingers together gently and pull them up your hand to the web of the little and ring fingers. Do this two to three times. Repeat the same process between the ring and middle fingers, middle and index fingers, and thumb and index finger. Encircle the base of your palm with the fingers of your opposite hand and squeeze gently and pull up slightly. Hold that for a few seconds. Place your forearm back on a flat surface this time with the palm down. Do some vigorous circular massage down the top of the forearm. I end the massage by lifting my arm off the flat surface and holding it with the elbow bent across my body. I place the thumb of my opposite hand across my inner wrist and my fingers flat against my outer wrist. I squeeze with moderate pressure and push my hand all the way up my arm to an inch and a half below my elbow. I do this about four times then I repeat the entire process on the other arm and hand.

As you massage yourself notice which area are especially tender and pay special attention to those areas. This is not a formula that you must follow exactly. It’s important that you pay attention to your body. You can tailor your massage to your specific needs concentrating on the areas that need work the most.

My carpal tunnel syndrome flares up when I’m not taking care of myself. If I drink plenty of water and get regular exercise–especially yoga–I have fewer problem with it. It’s also important to have good posture when working at a desk and use an ergonomic keyboard. I’ve also found that the stretches on this website help tremendously.

I’ve decided to make a brief video demonstrating self massage for carpal tunnel in case my written instructions weren’t clear enough.