I’m tired of seeing videos posted online by “healthcare experts” that have no clue about anatomy or the mechanics of human movement, yet think they do because of the letters following their name.
A degree in occupational therapy does not make you a hand specialist. Even if the occupational therapist were certified as a hand specialist, there is a difference between occupational therapy, which mostly focuses on the re-development of coordination and function following severe trauma such as a head injury. Re-gaining mobility in a person’s hand that has lost function due to a head trauma is in no way the same as correcting a muscle imbalance caused by overuse of a particular muscle group. (i.e. Carpal Tunnel Syndrome caused by overuse of the finger and wrist flexor and finger adductor muscles.)
If your therapist recommends the following exercises to treat carpal tunnel syndrome, find a new therapist immediately!
~ Gripping / Squeezing exercises (Squeeze balls, etc.)
~ Finger-walking exercises
~ Finger flexion gliding exercises
~ Using a hand (bi)cycle
~ Finger flexion exercises
~ Wrist flexion exercises
~ Circular exercises with wrist
~ Pincer-type exercises Next I will be posting stretches and exercises for treating Cubital Tunnel Syndrome.
I have listed the necessary stretches and exercises from start to finish that will help eliminate carpal tunnel syndrome in just a few, short weeks. Some people make the Flextend exercises more difficult than they really are, as it is a very simple product and program to follow. If you have questions again about what the exericses look like, visit the following link and view menu on the left side of the page that lists exercise animations, instructional video, billing data and a lot of other pertinent Flextend information: http://www.repetitive-strain.com/flextendindex.html
One of the stretches that you can perform is called Joint Segment Stretching which helps elongate the restrictions affecting the flexor tendon resulting from scar tissue, nodule and adhesion formation. (See Below)
No! Exercises that utilize gripping and squeezing can actually increase the severity of the disorder as these muscles are already too strong and tight in most cases. The key is to reduce the muscle imbalance by strengthening the finger extensor/abductor muscles as well as the wrist extensor muscles while stretching the finger flexor/adductor muscles and wrist flexor muscles. It is imperative to try and avoid overuse of the flexor/adductor muscles until the imbalance is eliminated.
The following video lists carpal tunnel statistics (national and international), shows people in pain, has real testimonials, etc. You may have already watched this video as it is on the main website, but here it is in case you missed.
If you do not have Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS) than you certainly can. BUT, if you have CTS, turning the hand/wrist into a palm-down position causes the radius and ulna to cross over each other like an “X”, twisting the muscles in the forearm and impinging the carpal tunnel even further. (Like rolling up an egg in a dish towel and then twisting it tighter and tighter. It’s going to crush and break the egg.) This is what happens in the small confines of the carpal tunnel.
In addition to the increased pressure on the carpal tunnel as you hold the weights in the palm down position, you are enhancing the pressure even more by gripping/squeezing with the wrist / finger flexor muscles and finger adductor muscles. And then on top of that, you extend the wrist backwards, stretching the flexor muscles while they are in a contracted position. This causes a massive increase of pressure within the carpal tunnel as well as a narrowing of the carpal tunnel. And as you flex and extend the wrist against resistance, the flexor tendons are dragging back and forth in a space that has no room, causing friction of the flexor tendons and median nerve, resulting the the swelling of the tendons and median nerve.
Pure extension in a palm-up or neutral position is the key to recovery for those who are suffering from CTS caused by a muscle imbalance.
This is a common question as both exercises involve extension of the fingers, so common sense would dictate that people should be able to just use a rubber band to defeat the effects of carpal tunnel syndrome by strengthening their extensor group.
The main problem with using a rubber band is that the finger extensors and finger abductors are the only muscles being exercised, and do not involve the wrist extensors which are a much larger group of muscles with most having two actions, the extension of the wrist and fingers. (Some are wrist extension only)
When using a rubber band to perform the extension exercises, there is a lack of range of motion that is performed, caused by several factors:
The first factor, that was left out of the video, is that you cannot bring your fingers down into a semi-closed fist position or the rubber band falls of the fingers.Therefore all of the finger joints cannot flex which completely narrows the scope of the effectiveness of the exercises.The more joints involved through their proper range of motion means better strength enhancing effects.
The second factor, which is mentioned in the video, is that you need to open and splay the fingers as far open as possible in order to stretch the flexor muscles, thenar and hypothenar emminence and the carpal ligament. The only way to keep the rubber bands on the fingers is to initiate movement at the base MP joint only and keep the fingers really stiff while performing the movement.
With these factors revealed, it shows that the use of rubber bands is limited to 1-joint being exercised. On the other hand, Flextend involves all 7-joints from the elbow to the DIP joint located near the tips of the fingers, making it quite obvious that there is no real comparison between the two methods of exercise. (Joints in Order from proximal to distal: Elbow, Radiocarpal (Wrist), Carpometacarpal, Intermetacarpal, Metacarpalphalangeal, Proximal Interphalangeal, and Distal Interphalangeal.)
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Advanced Stretch: Part-5 of 5. This is a great stretch to wrap up the series and assist you with relief from your symptoms. Implementing a good stretch and exercise program for carpal tunnel is the key to recovery without surgery or other invasive treatments.
You may begin your questions now, by sending an email to flextendrehab@yahoo.com. The questions need to pertain to finger, hand, wrist, elbow and shoulder injuries and disorders, including, but not limited to: Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, Trigger Finger Syndrome, Guyon’s Syndrome, Cubital Tunnel, Medial / Lateral Epicondylitis, etc. The questions may also pertain to FLEXTEND and how it is to be used. The questions may pertain to the correct way of performing a specific exercise, problems that you may be having, suggestions and more. Not all of the questions will be answered, but one question will be chosen each week, providing a great number of VRP’s for common….or maybe not so common, FAQ’s that people may have!
This is just one more way that BSI stands behind their products, with emphasis on helping you help yourself.
This is Part-3 of a 5-Part series of advanced stretching exercises for carpal tunnel syndrome. Performing a variety of stretches to help lengthen the flexor muscles that close the hands as well as the muscles that flex (bend) and adduct (bring together) the fingers is key to correcting the muscle imbalance in the hand, wrist and forearm that is often the root-cause for the development of carpal tunnel syndrome. I see so many stretching programs and videos promoting the stretching of the extensor muscles that open the hands and the exercising of the flexor muscles that close the hands, that I can see how and why carpal tunnel syndrome still exists in pandemic proportions. Most of the stretches and exercises shown, even by highly trained professionals, do nothing but exacerbate the symptoms.
Most everyone performs finger flexion and gripping actions all day, every day. As the flexor muscles become tighter, they cause the carpal bones to shift inward, collapsing the carpal tunnel and impinging the median nerve. Stretching these muscles, and strengthening the opposing wrist extensor muscles and finger extensor and abductor (spread fingers apart) muscles help create equal balance between these groups of muscles, therefore eliminating the nerve compression and symptoms that result. Plainly put, it is basic, simple biomechanics; balance the strength and length ratios of the involved muscles and the condition will most likely be eliminated.