Carpal tunnel during pregnancy refers to tingling pains in the fingers, wrist, hands and arms. It is a common symptom because of all the swelling you’re expecting.
Carpal tunnel during pregnancy
👋What is carpal tunnel?
Carpal tunnel is a common syndrome when you’re pregnant.🤰 You experience numbness or a dull ache in your fingers, hands, wrists and arms.✋ You also have swollen fingers and go through trouble grabbing objects and performing simple motor skills in daily routines.
👋Causes of carpal tunnel
Fluid retention collected in your tissue of the hands and wrists and increase in blood volume🩸 compress the median nerve, causing throbbing pain. You may feel more uncomfortable at night since the wrist is usually bent when you sleep.👌
There’s not much you can do to prevent the syndrome because eventually all the natural changes will find you when you’re pregnant.🤘 You can mitigate the pain by making minor changes in your daily life and get used to it.🤟
How to relieve carpal tunnel
👋Limit activities involving hands movement
Figure out which activities cause you the most pain and avoid doing them. Try to limit them as much as you can, especially the ones where your wrists are mostly immobilized like working on computers.✍️
👋Breaks when working
Take breaks to move your arms and stretch your hands. Moving around increases blood flow and relieves the pain.🤘 You can also use wrist stretches, such as wrist extension and wrist flexion.🤟
👋Sleep position
Avoid sleeping🛏️😴 on your hands and try to keep your wrists straight instead of bending them. If you wake up with pain, shaking your hands and doing a little stretching might help you.
👋Pain relievers
If none of those methods work, you should consult with your doctor to ask for anti-inflammatory pain medications that are safe for pregnancy. They don’t cure the pain but can only temporarily alleviate it.🤘✌️