When it comes to taking care of yourself, you always want to make sure and do everything possible to keep yourself as healthy as possible. While you do all of the obvious things such as eating healthy, getting annual vaccinations, and the like, you may not have considered the very real possibility of developing carpal tunnel syndrome. Carpal tunnel involves pressure on the median nerve and can lead to pain, numbness, and a lack of flexibility and movement in the wrist, hand, and forearm. To prevent yourself from developing this painful and debilitating disorder, all you need to do is follow some simple steps and guidelines. If you incorporate these into your daily life, you will be able to keep carpal tunnel at bay.
Take Frequent Breaks From Repetitive Tasks
Carpal tunnel is more likely to develop when you perform repetitive tasks day in and day out. These repetitive arm movements put continued and prolonged pressure on your median nerve and can lead to permanent stiffness and discomfort.
While you cannot necessary help the fact that many jobs and tasks require repetitive motions, you can take a step to help counteract the effects of these tasks. What you need to do is take frequent breaks from those repetitive motion tasks.
This does not mean shirking your work or duties, but rather taking only a couple seconds every 10 to 15 minutes to stretch out your arms and wrists. You can even just take a second to circle your wrists and hands. Any short break that gets your arms and wrists moving in a different way will help you to prevent the development of carpal tunnel.
Start Doing Yoga Regularly
Yoga is an exercise program that helps to keep you aware of your body and movements while at the same time helping to develop and maintain strength and flexibility. This ancient practice is an excellent way to help you stave off potential carpal tunnel syndrome.
The stretches in yoga work the arms and wrists in various ways to keep your body guessing. Positions such as prayer pose and eagle pose that twist and manipulate the wrists and hands are particularly effective at developing the flexibility you need to keep the pressure off of your median nerves.
Stay Warm
As you probably know, when your body gets cold, it stiffens up. When you are cold and stiff, you are more likely to develop an injury or even a chronic condition such as carpal tunnel syndrome.
When you are cold at work and performing repetitive motion tasks, you are more likely to suffer the ill-effects of carpal tunnel. Thus, you want to do everything you can to keep your body warm and comfortable at work. This can involve gloves, warms shirts and sweaters, and even using a space heater to keep your little work space warm and toasty.
As you can see, there are simple and easy techniques that you can use to prevent the onset of carpal tunnel syndrome. All you have to do is give them a try and you will keep your wrists and hands as healthy as possible for as long as possible. For more tips, contact a clinic like Allegheny Brain And Spine Surgeons.
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