Wednesday, June 17, 2009

How Neck Stretches Can Help Prevent Carpal Tunnel

How Neck Stretches Can Help Prevent Carpal Tunnel

by Tom Nicholson

Often when you have wrist pain, you only think about that specific area and the healing you want. However, healing the wrist pain isn't something simple. You may need to do some other exercises that are not actually carpal tunnel exercise to help the pain and the problem. The following are a few good exercise to use to help other body parts, which will help your carpal tunnel problem.

Exercise #1 - Torso Twist

Find a chair without any arms and sit down to either the right or left of it. Make sure you're feet are planted firmly on the ground. Turn your torso until you can grab both sides of the back of the chair. If you are on the left side then once you have hold of the chair, turn your head to the left. The more twisting the better, but don't over do it.

Once you do one side, then do the other side as well. Holding the position for a bit is the important part of the exercise. Usually it's a good idea to begin by using the five second rule. Hold five seconds to start out, but if the carpal tunnel exercises become easier for you, then hold it a bit longer. If you can twist further, then work on twisting further as you get more used to the exercise.

Exercise #2 - Neck Release

Once you do the torso twist, now sit in the chair the normal way. You'll take the left hand, reach to the back and hold onto the left side of the chair you're in. Then for the best effects, take the neck, move it down slowly, and get your chin on the chest or as close as you can. Take the right hand, reach to the left side of the head, and then pull the neck to the side for a nice stretch.

For those who don't always have great posture when working at a desk, this is one of the best carpal tunnel exercises. Although it doesn't focus on the arms and wrists, you will feel the effects on the neck and shoulders, helping out. When you loosen these areas up you'll be able to sit properly at the desk, get the arms up better, and it will make it easier for you to use your hands for your job.

The Shrug

Last of all, the shrug is another easy exercise that isn't exactly one of the specific carpal tunnel exercises that people use. This can be done in the chair or you can stand up to do it. Just lift up your shoulders, towards the ears, as high as you can. After you get the shoulders up, then allow them to drop and do the exercise again. When you get to the highest point, it's a good idea to hold the shoulders in that position several seconds.

Although these exercises may not seem like carpal tunnel exercises, they can help to prevent the problem from occurring. Do them at work, a few minutes on the hour, or when you have a break. It will refresh you. As you start doing these exercises each day, you'll be working to prevent problems with carpal tunnel in the future as well.

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