5 Wrist Exercises to Treat Carpal Tunnel

There are certain wrist exercises that will help alleviate the symptoms of carpal tunnel along with better management of pain and numbness.

Carpal tunnels can lead to pain, stiffness, and numbness of your fingers and hands, which might be caused by genetic factors along with lifestyle. There are certain wrist exercises and stretches that might help you to effectively manage these symptoms.

In this article, we have curated a list of the five best and most effective wrist stretches that will help in treating carpal tunnels.

Stretching exercises for arm (Image via Pexels/Ketut Subiyanto)

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Best Wrist Exercises for the Carpal Tunnel

These wrist-strengthening exercises do not require any equipment and can be done anywhere.

1. Wrist Lift

This is amongst the best wrist exercises for carpal tunnels that will provide a deep stretch to the muscles in your arms. Wrist lifts will also increase the strength of your arms.

How to do wrist lifts?

Begin this exercise by positioning one palm flat on a surface such as a table. Next position your other palm angled at ninety degrees across your knuckles. Raise the fingers and wrist of the bottom hand while pressing your top palm onto the bottom palm. Hold for a few seconds before relaxing. Repeat. Swap sides and repeat.

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2. Wrist Extension

This is among the effective wrist exercises that will stretch your inner forearms along with increasing strength.

How to do wrist extension?

Begin this exercise by holding one arm out right in front of the body at your shoulder level. Make sure your elbows do not get locked out as you stretch your arm at shoulder height.

Bend your wrists to the back in a manner similar to the ’stop' sign. Make use of your opposite palm to gently drive the palm closer to the body and hold it. Make sure to feel an effective stretch in your inner forearms. Repeat and swap sides.

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3. Wrist Stretch with Weights

This is also amongst the great wrist exercises that will help in stretching your flexor muscles along with strengthening your forearms.

How to do wrist stretch with weights?

Start this exercise by grasping a dumbbell in your palm before extending it straight to the front with your palm angled to the ground. Next, slowly raise your hand backward and upwards to your arms by bending your wrist. Slowly bring your palm back to the initial position and repeat.

Wrist exercise with weights (Image via Pexels/Anna Shvets)

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4. Tendon Glides

Tendon glides are amongst the efficient wrist exercises that will help in better management of carpal tunnel syndrome along with gently stretching your tendons.

How to do tendon glides?

Start this exercise by bending your elbow so that your forearm is pointed straight upward. Keep your thumbs and fingers straight along at the level of your wrist.

Now bend your fingers so that your palms make a hook shape. Next, bend your fingers to make a tight fist with your thumb placed over your fingers. Hold before releasing and repeating.

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5. Wrist Flexion

This is also amongst the decent wrist exercises which will help in stretching the muscles of your outer forearms.

How to do wrist flexion?

Begin this exercise by extending one arm right in front of the body at the level of your shoulder. Make sure not to lock your elbows as you extend the said arm to the front and your palm is angled to the ground.

Next, bend your wrist so that your fingers are pointed at the ground. Make use of your opposite palm to drive the bent palm closer to your body. Make sure that you feel an effective stretch in the muscles of your outer forearm. Hold before releasing and repeating. Repeat on the opposite side.

Wrist stretches will help with the carpal tunnel. (Image via Pexels/Andrea Piacquadio)

The aforementioned article discusses some of the best wrist exercises that will help in the effective management of carpal tunnel.

After completing these wrist exercises, you can also apply cold compresses such as frozen peas and crushed ice, which will help in preventing inflammation in your hands.

You can effectively protect your wrists with just a few wrist stretches and exercises. However, it is recommended to immediately stop these wrist exercises if you are experiencing any kind of pain.