Home Remedies for Wrist Pain

As anyone who spends a considerable amount of time typing away on keyboard knows, the resulting wrist pain can be brutal. Sometimes it can even lead to carpal tunnel syndrome, which is a condition in which the wrist's nerves are compressed, leading to numbness, muscle weakness, and tingling skin (paresthesias). While it is always best to seek a medical professional's advice when dealing with a health related issue, more comprehensive procedures such as surgery aren't always necessary. Here are some common home remedies that can help a person deal with wrist pain or carpal tunnel syndrome.

Exercise

This is an important preventative measure as well. When the wrist and joints begin to hurt, whether due to carpal tunnel syndrome or simply from being overworked, it is best to take a break and relax the wrist, arm, and fingers from the stiff position they were in. Stretch, bend, and move them around, much as one would do legs after sitting down for a long time. This allows not just the nerves, but the muscles to move as well. If the wrists and hands have been pointing down at a keyboard, stretch them back towards you and feel the tension start to decrease! If you're about to do some wrist extensive work, either at the keyboard or around the house, exercise your joints beforehand, just as you would stretch your legs before jogging.

Limiting Extensive Wrist Activity

I know, I know -you simply can't step away from your computer or video games for one extra moment. However, if exercise doesn't work and you're keeping your wrists and joints immobile to the point of pain, it will have to be a possibility! While no one should have to give up what they love, it's important to keep moderation in mind and take several breaks during pro-longed wrist activity -at least until the pain stops.

Heat and Ice

Interestingly, though they're at different ends of the temperature spectrum, both heat and ice can do wonders for wrist pain. Applying a cold compress like a bag of ice or a warm one such as a heating pad or hot towel can relax the muscles. Which one a person chooses is all up to personal preference, as every person's body reacts uniquely to different things. Personally, I find a hot compress more helpful than anything else, for back pain as well as wrist pain.

Take Your Vitamins

It turns out that mom and dad were right -vitamins are a great thing! Reports show that vitamin B deficiencies have been shown to be one cause of carpal tunnel related wrist pain. Though a low dose in vitamin form or in vitamin B rich foods such as bread, cereal, eggs, and milk can help curb that deficiency, don't overdose and take extra large doses. Over-medicating with vitamin B can not only cause headaches and weakness, but it can also further exacerbate wrist pain and nerve damage! As with most things in life, moderation is best, so when you're popping open a bottle of Flintstone Chew-ables, be mindful of how many extra vitamins and nutrients you're ingesting. In addition, ibuprofen is a great anti-inflammatory that not only reduces the headaches pain can cause, but can take away the inflammation as well.

Wear a Wrist Splint

A wrist splint, which needs no prescription from a doctor to buy, is a vital source of relieving wrist pain. The best time to wear one of these splints is at night, which is when the body not only heals itself, but is also when it can accidentally hurt an already injured joint further by turning and twisting without the person even realizing it. Keeping the wrist immobile is a key factor in preventing this thing from happening. However, just as with vitamin B deficiencies, some people are going to be keen to over-do it and wear these braces not just as night, but in the daytime as well. Though the wrist can be worn during the day, which can be a good thing, wearing it during wrist heavy exercises like writing, typing, and cutting is not. Keeping the wrist still while it should be moving will do more harm than good.

"Carpal Tunnel Syndrome", Mother Nature.com