Natural Remedy of the Week: Carpel Tunnel Syndrome

If you’re a writer, you may have experienced carpel tunnel syndrome. That’s because carpel tunnel is caused by any kind of repetitive motion, like typing on your computer!, doing hobbies, anything where you are repeating the same motion over and over again. Symptoms include pain, numbness, and tingling in one or both of your hands. These symptoms happen because the median nerve in the wrists becomes compressed as it passes through a narrow tunnel in the wrist formed by the carpal bone. 

Natural remedies can really work to soothe CTS and help you to be more productive.  Here’s how:

Try anti-inflammatory herbs such as Bromelain, an enzyme derived from pineapple stems that relieves pain and swelling. You can get it in a supplement or go for the real thing like pineapple. Take: Bromelain (500 mg twice daily between meals). Also good for inflammation is the Ayurvedic herb Boswellia. Devil's claw also works well for both conditions to reduce inflammation. Take: Devil's claw tincture: [1/4] tsp., 20 drops, or 1.3 ml three times daily.

Taking 500 mg of quercetin and bromelain capsules twice daily between meals can also help reduce the inflammation of the median nerve. Flaxseed oil (take: 2,000 mg a day) and omega-3 essential fatty oils (take: 1,000 mg) can also work anti-inflammatory magic. Ginger (300 mg twice daily) and Ginkgo biloba (300 mg twice a day) can help with circulation.

Drink Plenty of Water. Increase hydration, up to eight glasses a day to help with circulation and get rid of metabolic waste

Give Your Hands a Massage. Research shows that massage can also be effective for CTS. Use wintergreen oil or Tiger Balm for relief. You can find them in Asian Food shops and health food stores.

Eat Indian Food. The turmeric (curcumin) in Indian foods is a natural anti-inflammatory, and this means it can reduce the swelling of the median nerve in your wrist. You can also take: One 400-600 mg capsule (100 percent curcumin) three times a day. .

Take a break. If you do a lot of typing, or texting, take a break from it once an hour. Specially designed keyboards, can help take pressure off your wrist when you type. Yoga stretches like Downward Dog can also help give your fingers a nice stretch.

Try a wrist brace. Wearing a "cock-up" wrist splint that keeps your hand in a neutral position can help take the stress off the nerve.