Have you ever felt a numbness in your fingers? Do you feel pain in your wrist that keeps you from everyday activities and persists for days to come? Do you feel tingles in your hands after working for a prolonged amount of time? If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, then it’s possible you are dealing with what is known as Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. Many people experience pain associated with the over-use of their hands, but there is natural treatment plan available to you. Read on to get to our top 12 natural home remedies for carpal tunnel.
Our home remedies for carpal tunnel will help you get rid of the pain fast!
1. Warm Compress
Doctors go back and forth about whether warm or cold compresses are better for your carpal tunnel, but the bottom line is that you should do what feels most soothing to you. A warm compress helps to soothe pain from the disorder at least temporarily. In this guide, you’ll find techniques for using both warm and cold compresses. Try both and see which feels best for your pain pressure points. Here’s how to make your own warm compress at home.
Instructions
- Bring a small pot of water to a boil.
- Pour into a heat-safe bowl and allow to sit for 10 minutes.
- Drop in a washcloth and allow it to steam for five minutes.
- Carefully remove the washcloth by putting on a pair of heat-safe gloves. Wring out the water and roll it up.
- Place in a resealable plastic bag.
- Tape around your wrists and allow to cool.
2. Cayenne Lotion
Did you know that red pepper has a whopping six compounds that work to relieve pain naturally as well as seven compounds that work to relieve inflammation? If you’re looking for effective home remedies for carpal tunnel make your own natural cayenne lotion to rub on your wrists.
Instructions
- Pour two pints of rubbing alcohol in a safe container.
- Add five red peppers to the alcohol. Allow it to steep for three days.
- Apply the lotion to your wrists.
- Make sure you wash your hands in milk after handling the mixture.
- You also can make a lotion by adding three teaspoons of cayenne powder to a quarter-cup of fragrance-free lotion.
3. Ice Pack
Cold compresses also can bring relief to carpal tunnel pain, if applied correctly. You never want to apply ice or cold water for an amount of time that causes you additional pain or begins to turn your skin gray, blue or black. An ice pack can also provide relief when dealing with genital herpes.
Instructions
- Fill a resealable plastic bag with ice cubes.
- Tape a soft, dry washcloth around your wrists or fingers.
- Allow the ice pack to rest on your wrists for no longer than 20 minutes.
- Repeat if the pain persists, but don’t apply an ice pack more than three times a day.
4. Chamomile Compress
Among home remedies for carpal tunnel, chamomile is an excellent herbal treatment. The active ingredients of chamomile include cyclic ethers, bisabolol, and chamazulene, all of which are anti-inflammatory. Make an easy chamomile compress that you can use directly on pained wrists and fingers.
Instructions
- Cut a small square of cheesecloth and fill with a tablespoon of organic chamomile, loose-leaf tea.
- Wrap the cheesecloth upward to form a bundle and secure with a rubber band.
- Bring a small pot of water to a rolling boil.
- Drop the bundle in the water and cut off the heat.
- Allow the bundle to steep for five minutes.
- Take the bundle out of the water, testing to make sure it isn’t too hot. Then dab onto your wrists.
- Allow it to rest on your pain points until it cools.
5. Frequent Breaks
A key home remedy to breaking free from the pain of carpal tunnel syndrome is to take a break frequently. Every 30 minutes or so, take a five-minute break to stretch your fingers and wrists.
Instructions:
- Don’t bend your wrists too far back or forward. Gently push them back and forth.
- Clasp your fingers together and push out in front of you to stretch them.
- Get up and walk around so you aren’t tempted to begin typing or using your hands again before your five minutes is up.
- Stop work if pain persists.
6. Warm Bath
A warm bath for your entire body will help to ease the pain your wrists, fingers, and hands may feel due to carpal tunnel. Not only does it allow your hands, fingers, and wrists to be fully immersed in soothing, warm water, but it helps your entire body decompress and relieve the stress that work has put on you throughout the day.
Instructions
- Fill your bathtub with clear-running hot water.
- Allow the bath to sit for 15 minutes.
- Add a few droplets of your favorite essential oils if you wish.
- Slip into the bath and soak until just before your fingers turn wrinkly.
7. Aloe Vera Paste
Aloe vera is a natural cooling agent that can help soothe the pain of carpal tunnel. What’s great about carpal tunnel home remedies that involve aloe vera is that they are effective at relieving pain but they are also often free. How many of us already have an aloe vera plant on the windowsill in our kitchens? And, if you don’t, you will learn now that this is a plant that is helpful to have in your kitchen for uses besides for carpal tunnel, due to its anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial abilities.
Instructions
- Pick one leaf off an aloe vera plant.
- Open up the leaf on one side very carefully with a knife. Make sure you are not holding the leaf from beneath.
- Squeeze the aloe vera gel out of the leaf and swab it on your hurting fingers and wrists.
- Allow the gel to dry before rinsing away the residue.
8. Ice Bath for Fingers
An ice bath for your fingers can be an effective and easy way to relieve carpal tunnel pain if you have time to watch TV or do something without the use of your hands.
Instructions
- Fill a large bowl with about 30 cubes of ice.
- Cover the ice with water.
- Place your fingers in the bowl and allow them to soak for 15 minutes at a time.
- Take out your fingers if they begin to change colors to gray, black or blue or if they begin to burn or hurt.
9. Pineapple Paste
Pineapples contain bromelain, an enzyme that dissolves proteins and helps to reduce pain and swelling caused by carpal tunnel. Make a pineapple paste that you can apply to your fingers, wrists, and hands as one of the most natural home remedies for carpal tunnel.
Instructions
- Mix 2 cups of fresh cut pineapple with 1/2 cup fresh cut papaya in a blender.
- Add 1 teaspoon of grated ginger.
- Add 1 teaspoon of turmeric.
- Blend thoroughly together into a paste and apply to your pain points.
- Cover your hands with plastic bags and allow to sit for 10 minutes before washing away with warm water.
10. Finger Extension Exercise
A finger extension exercise is a safe, effective and free way to target pain in your fingers caused by carpal tunnel. Just remember that you should deploy this exercise with care and not pull your fingers with so much force that they begin to “pop.” Among home remedies for carpal tunnel, it is the only one targeting your fingers alone.
Instructions
- Lay both of your fingers gently and flatly on a table.
- Ask a friend to sit across from you.
- Your friend will gently pull each finger and wiggle it, being careful not to pop it out of socket it or “crack” it.
- This is a gentle, massaging exercise for painful fingers. Repeat two or three times.
11. Vitamin B6
Doctors report that many people who are found to be deficient in Vitamin B6, or those who are not ingesting at least 100 milligrams a day, could have aggravated carpal tunnel. One easy way to make sure you are getting enough Vitamin B6 in your diet is to eat foods that have a high concentration of this vitamin, in particular: sunflower seeds, pistachios, wild-caught salmon and cooked turkey and chicken. Who knew that a carpal tunnel home remedy could be found in a change to your diet? Keep this list of key foods that will boost your Vitamin B6 intake on your refrigerator and consider how you can incorporate them quickly and easily into your daily diet. You can also try Vitamin B6 supplement capsules.
Instructions
- Grill fresh, wild-caught salmon with a little olive oil. Top on a salad and sprinkle with sunflower seeds.
- Bake a whole chicken or turkey and serve with roasted pistachios.
- Bake a lean pork loin with a sauce made from apricots.
- Make a summer salad with bananas, avocado slices, pistachios, sunflower seeds and your favorite salmon, chicken, turkey or lean pork.
12. Hand Massage
Among home remedies for carpal tunnel, giving yourself a hand massage is one of the best and most economical because it’s free. All you have to do is learn the right technique that works for you to alleviate your pressure and pain points over time.
Instructions
- Place your alternate hand in the clasp of your writing hand.
- Use your fingers of your writing hand to press into the pain points at intervals, like you are playing the piano, just with more pressure.
- Gently press the fingers of your alternate hand back and forth.
- Do the piano intervals at the pain points against your alternate hand’s wrist.
- Rest for 60 seconds and repeat two or three times before switching hands.
Conclusion
No one deserves to live with the pain caused by Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. If you experience it then you may be dealing with this syndrome, so don’t miss out on our top home remedies for carpal tunnel. Remember especially for people who experience intermittent or light pain due to carpal tunnel syndrome, it really is all in life and work balance. Let us know if you tried any of our home remedies for carpal tunnel. Leave us a comment below!
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