Carpal Tunnel Syndrome - What has worked for you?

[Lisa]

I am at my wits end at the moment.

I have been suffering with CT this pregnancy for only 3 days but I feel like I am going crazy... I can barely do a thing for myself, and doing things for my 2 yr old DS is close to impossible and has had me in tears on a few occasions.
I don't suffer from CT any other times outside of pregnancies, except for maybe a few weeks after having the baby.

2 nights ago I was over it, I was sobbing and in so much pain... all the way up my arms and into my shoulders. My DH took me to the ED at our local hospital where I was told there really was nothing more they could do for me apart from what I was already doing (panadol etc) as I am allergic to codeine and anything else they could give me would pose a risk to my unborn baby... a risk I am not willing to take no matter what.


So, I am now going to look at other options... but I would love to know what has worked for others out there suffering with this, either in pregnancy or not.

[Taurean]

Oh Lisa - I feel for you because I suffer from RSI in my wrist and have been seeing my physio weekly for 18 months now! It's horrible!

I'd suggest seeing a good physio and getting ultrasound and electrotherapy on it. My wrist is beyond repair unfortunately (I've had ongoing treatment with OT's and my physio plus surgery) but the weekly physio does give me relief and really helped when my wrist was at its worst. I'm sure it would work a treat on CT though.

Wrist pain is terrible and so debilitating. It's very common in pregnancy though so on the brightside, you should get relief once bubs arrives. Try the physio though and hopefully it will help x

[STARRYSKY]

I feel your pain hun! I was the same during my pgncy, I couldnt sleep some nights due to the tingling, numbness, or just downright awful pain!!
The physio at the hospital gave me some good tips with elevating and stretching, also massage.
I have also heard that accupuncture can help, but never tried this myself.
hope you find something that works for you, its no fun is it?

oh, you can also get splints from the chemist that might work, I couldnt use them due to the swelling in my hands and fingers being that bad, but they are supposed to really help.

[Deejoy17]

The only thing which has worked for me is going to see a chiropractor

I suffered with CTS with my 2nd pregnancy and 18 months after his birth I was still suffering so someone mentioned that a chiropractor would help, which it did, I was a bit worried about how it`ll go with this pregnancy but it`s not too bad at all, just now and again it comes back but shortly goes again

[Meo]

I would also suggest going to see a chiropractor, my dad has great results with CT (he's a chiropractor, not a CT sufferer )

[jackrose]

Great advice above.

I have not suffered from it but have treated it.

I would suggest splinting at night is an excellent suggestion - see a pharmacy for splint/advice and an appointment with a good physiotherapist or really good massage therapist.

generally speaking CT pain is caused by a swelling at the wrist joint (due to fluid retention in pregnancy). The swelling irritates the nerves which pass through a small area in the wrist resulting in pain in the area where the nerves innervate and referring up the arm in some cases.

Therefore, if you can find someone to do some soft tissue work to

1. move the fluid
2. reduce the tension in your arm muscles
3. free up the wrist joint

you should get a bit of pain relief.

BTW I know it is really hard to sort through the health therapists to find the right one, especially in massage. A physio is certainly good and by 'really good massage therapist' I mean someone who has a good knowledge of this type of soft tissue treatment. Generally a remedial or sports massage therapist is what you are looking for rather than a relaxation massage therapist. Alternatively, people who specialise in lymphatic drainage massage would be good as the lymphatic system is responsible for draining the fluid which accumulates in your extremities, but they can be hard to find.

You should not need to worry about finding someone with a special pregnancy table as you should not have to lie down on your belly for a CT treatment.

[Jellyfish]

Ohhh, I feel your pain! I had this during my pregnancy and it was horrible

I used a splint and just made sure to rest it as much as possible. It was gone about a week before I gave birth, thankfully.

Hope yours clears up soon!

[sunshine_sieben]

Oh, I'm in the same boat atm. I can barely use cuttlery and especially the early morning hours I can't sleep because of the pain.
I have talked to my dad about it today. He's an orthopaedic surgeon in Germany and Carpal tunnel release surgery is one of the most common surgeries he does. So he knows quite a bit about the condition. He mentioned that there is something called a "night splint" that is meant to help a lot. It keeps your wrists straight and immobile when you sleep to give you relief.
I will see if I cann get my hands on some on Monday cause it's driving me insane! I expect to have sore hips, back, abdomen during late pregnacy. But not the hands...

Sasa

[Jen_Aidan]

oh i know how painful that can be - i suffer with CT during the winter anyway however, it was at its worst during pregnancy.

Don't know whether this will help or not but I used magnets as the pain was mostly in my wrists - i have always worn magnetic bracelets and found they really do relieve the pain although have heard from other's that i did not work as well for them.

I was able to get them from my local chemist and even sometimes at craft fair's / local markets there were people selling home made jewellery, they are known as magnetic hematite bracelets.

Hope you find some relief soon

[Lisa]

Sasa... I highly recommend acupuncture. It has been fantastic for me so far. Also acupressure has been brilliant too. I also try to make sure I don't have my hands clenched shut when I sleep... the straighter my hands the better.
I hope you get some relief real soon.

[Snoozie]

It really sucks. I ended up with Bilateral deQuervains Syndrome.... you really find out how much you use your thumbs when you get blinding pain every time you try! I got it in the latter stages of pregnancy with DD1 and it continued for 3 months after until I had cortisone injections in both wrists.

I have my hands splinted, saw a physio and then eventually went to a hand specialist. I used heat packs and cold packs and pretty much had no relief until the cortisone (which hurt like heck for the first 2 weeks after injections but then it was gone!). Don't know about doing that while pregnant though.

I couldn't lift an empty kettle it was so bad.

If it makes you feel better though I didn't get it with DD2! lol I still have problems with them but not to the extent that they were.

Hope you find some relief.

[aussienic]

I bought a splint from a medical supplier and wore it ALL the time except when changing nappies, showering or washing up and cooking.. I did have to wear it sometimes when cooking however as my hand hurt to cook too..

Also raise your hands above your head at night when sitting watching tv.. I swear I could feel fluid or something just draining. It was only a short term relief but relief all the same

[blondedoctor]

I've had CT since about 23 weeks and its been pretty difficult. I started seeing a physio but due to living an hour away from one as well as the cost of twice weekly treatments for up to 20 weeks... well I had to give it up. I find that knitting and crochet really help - I guess its keeping the hands moving that does it. Also really hot showers every morning helps me loosen up for the day.

I've noticed it has gotten substantially worse this last week - can't wait to have this babe and hopefully lose the CP!!!

[Lisa]

Thanks everyone!

I'm still awake because I am in pain, so thought I would scroll ever so gently through BB. I have an appointment for accupuncture on Monday at lunch time so I will let you all know how it goes. My DH has been on here tonight researching all kinds of things for me... he bought me some magnesium & calcium tablets and has been doing accupressure on me which has definitely helped my right hand heaps.
When I was pregnant with Harrison my CT was terrible, and I even had it a time through the first month of him being born... it is scary when your hand goes numb when you're holding a newborn. I never sought out any help last time and treated it with hot/cold packs and panadol... this time it is loads worse already and I refuse to not try other therapies.

Thanks once again for your amazing advice everyone it is so very much appreciated.

[Matryoshka]

I feel your pain Lisa, i had it so badly in pregnancy #2 that i would wake all through the night and my hands/arms were so numb i would have to get up and wack them on the mattress to get the feeling back. I was given these elasticated things sort of like gloves without hands which are supposed to keep your hands straight when you sleep, but they didn't help at all (this was from the physio). Unfortunately the only thing which helped was giving birth! it totally stopped that day.

I would consider trying an osteopath though, i've since been seeing one for a few months for neck problems and have had great results. Helped with my baby's reflux too, so may be worth a try.