15 Best Carpal Tunnel Exercises With Pictures

A superb exercise to lengthen and loosen the forearm muscles is a wrist flexor stretch, which can be done relatively quickly. This exercise may help release some of that tension that might have caused your pain. It is a very effective way of maintaining flexibility within your wrist and reducing strain.

How To Do?

• You can start this stretch either by standing or sitting, extending your arm straight in front of you and your palm facing outwards.
• Gently lock your fingers back toward your body using your other hand which gives you stretch along the inside of your forearm and wrist.
• Hold for 15-30 seconds, feeling the muscles let go of the tension and then, move to the other arm.
• Repeat this for about 2-3 sets.

The stretch of the wrist extensor loosens and lengthens the muscles on the top side of the forearm. This will release tension and stiffness, thus helping prevent or ease any discomfort in the wrists, especially if someone is doing repetitive motions or is using the computer for an extended period.

How To Do?

• Begin with one arm extended in front with the palm facing down.
• Clasping the back of your hand with your opposite hand, gently pull it toward yourself while leaning toward the floor.
• Hold for 15-30 seconds, focusing on an easy pull of your tissue to create a lengthening sensation across the anterior portion of your forearm and into your wrist.
• Repeat three sets for each wrist, after transferring to the opposite arm and holding the stretch.

One of the easiest yet most efficient methods to help strengthen your fingers and hands is the rubber band finger circle. This exercise strengthens your grip and will be of great service to people who have to use their hands quite frequently in a day through typing or playing a musical instrument.

How To Do?

• Grab a small rubber band and put it around your fingers just above the knuckles.
• Spread your fingers as far apart without straining, keeping the rubber band gently stretched, and hold for several seconds
• Then, slowly bring your fingers back together.
• Repeat 3 sets of 10-15 repetitions per hand and make sure to do it in a controlled motion, feeling the muscles of your hand at work.

The prayer stretch is a very easy, yet effective approach towards stretching and relaxing the wrist and forearm muscles. It helps in loosening the tension, especially if one has been using his or her hands for extended periods, as in typing, writing, or other repetitive tasks.

It's a light approach towards making the flexors more flexible and to avoid rigidity of any kind.

How To Do?

• Put your palms together under your chin, in a prayer position.
• Push your hands down toward your waist while keeping your palms pressed together.
• Hold the stretch for 15-30 seconds, and repeat for 3/4 sets.

Wrist circles are an extremely easy exercise that helps significantly in improving wrist flexibility and mobility. They can help your wrists and forearms loosen some stiffness and decrease tension.

Hence, it is very useful for those who use their hands a lot during the day, whether by typing or with tools.

How To Do?

• Start by holding one arm straight out in front of you and allowing your hand to be limp.
• Rotate your wrist in a circular direction and take your hand in one direction. 
• The circles should become as wide and smooth as possible but don't force any movement that doesn't feel comfortable. 
• Do 3 sets with 10-15 circles and then change directions, rotating your wrist the other way.

These stretching exercises effectively loosen your fingers and help make them stronger. They will minimize stiffness, enhance grip strength, and relax tension. Therefore, they are very helpful for people who often or constantly perform specific activities that give them discomfort in their hands.

How To Do?

• Keeping your fingers interlocked, straighten your arms out in front of you.
• Hold each stretch for five to ten seconds, then release and continue to the next finger.
• Once all fingers have been stretched, the hand should be made into a fist. It should then be progressively opened wide by stretching the fingers as far as it will go.
• This opening and closing is repeated about 10-15 times.

Wrist flexor strengthening is a simple workout that strengthens the inside of your forearm. Hence, the flexion of the wrist will be very much improved once you strengthen this particular group of muscles.

This in turn might reduce the risk of injury, while it also will give you a much better grip on whatever object you are holding. Thus, it can be very useful, especially for athletes, typists, or manual laborers.

How To Do?

• Sit and have your forearm rest on a table or bench.
• Support a lightweight weight in your hand. Flex your wrist, lifting the weight towards your body. 
• Lower your wrist back down, not letting it drop, and keep control of the weight.
• Do 3 sets of 10-15 repetitions for each hand.

Another simple exercise to strengthen the back side of your forearm, it may help you gain improved stability in the wrist and prevent injury. This is especially true for those motions that involve repeated use of the hand and certain sports.

How To Do?

• Sit and have your forearm rest on a table or bench. 
• Let your hand hang off the edge, palm down. Hold a weight in your hand. 
• Slowly lift your wrist upward as you raise the weight.
• Lower your wrist back down, not letting it drop, and keep control of the weight.
• Do 3 sets of around 15 repetitions for each wrist.

The gliding exercises will help restore flexibility and mobility of the tendons in your hand and fingers. These are very useful for people with injuries to the hand, post-surgery rehabilitation, or people who have developed stiffness in their hands from performing some kind of repetitive activity.

How To Do?

• Begin with an open hand with all fingers extended.
• From this position, initiate the curling of fingers toward forming a hook fist, keeping knuckles straight.
• Now, keeping those knuckles straight, you are supposed to create a full fist by curling your fingers in your palm. 
• First, straighten your fingers to return to an open hand, then bend your fingers to form a straight fist. 
• Return to the starting position with fingers fully extended.
• Perform 3 sets of 5-10 repetitions for each hand. 

These nerve-gliding exercises aim to gently stretch and, consequently mobilize your arms and hands that might have developed some stiffness in your nerve area due to carpal tunnel syndrome.

How To Do?

• Open your hand to the side, starting with your palm up.
• Extend your hand by gently bending your wrist and fingers backward.
• Hold the stretch for a few seconds, then bend your wrist forward, curling your fingers.
• Repeat this for 3 sets and 5-10 repetitions on each side.

This exercise is effective for the forearm muscles and improves your grip. For this exercise, people will need a soft rubber ball or a pair of rolled-up socks. 

How To Do?

• Hold the ball in one hand.
• Squeeze for 5 seconds and release.
• Repeat 10 times.
• Perform three sets of repetitions and then swap to the other hand.

To strengthen hands, fingers, and foreman, the hand gripper is excellent. People continuously using it can increase their grip and help them carry heavy weights or do tasks that demand good hand strength.

How To Do?

• Grasp a hand gripper in the palm of one hand and hold with the palm inward.
• Squeeze the gripper, with a tight force and pull the handles together.
• Squeeze and hold for two to three seconds, then let go slowly.
• Progressively work up, over the weeks, to more resistance with the hand gripper by doing three sets of ten to fifteen squeezes with each hand.

The opposition of the thumb allows for finer mobility of the thumb towards each finger, and it will improve the force and coordination of your thumb. This exercise generally increases grip and hand function, providing easy performance of different actions in life, like holding or typing.

How To Do?

• Start by having your hand open with your fingers outstretched.
• In a clockwise circle, bend the thumb so it touches the tip of the index finger and creates an "O" shape.
• From this position, move the thumb in a light touch to each of the tips of the middle, ring, and pinky fingers, in order. 
• Return the thumb to the starting position after each touch and do 3 sets with 10-15 repetitions.

The median nerve glide is one workout that is highly recommended; it allows the median nerve an opportunity for better mobilization as it travels down one's arm and into the hand. This exercise can relieve some of the pain or numbness caused by carpal tunnel syndrome.

How To Do?

• Stand up straight with your arm by your side and your palm up.
• Slowly bend your wrist down to stretch the palm and front of your wrist.
• Bend your head away from your outstretched arm while maintaining good posture and shoulder alignment.
• Hold for 2 seconds. Return to the starting position of your wrist and head.
• Repeat 10 times.

Wrist resistance exercises with a band are important to build up your wrists and forearms. This will enhance grip strength and prevent any kind of wrist injury, especially if one is performing repetitive tasks or lifting objects often.

How To Do?

• Sit with your forearm on a table or your leg with your palm up.
• Hold one end of the resistance band in your hand and attach the opposite end under your foot or another stable surface.
• Slowly curl your wrist up, using the resistance band.
• Return your wrist to its starting position, lowering it down slowly.

To alleviate carpal tunnel syndrome, here are a few basic tips: Have regular breaks from repetitive work, such as typing and mouse use. Rest the hands.

Employ ergonomic-ongoing equipment that reduces strain, like a keyboard with wrist support. It will be of great help to do exercises that keep your wrist and hand muscles flexible.

Keep good posture in order to avoid further straining your wrists. Cold packs can be applied to help reduce swelling and inflammation. Set your workstation up to avoid the awkward position of the wrist. If symptoms continue to persist, then consult a health professional for individual advice and treatment.

If conservative measures for carpal tunnel syndrome, like rest, exercises, or a wrist brace are not helpful, then you need to see a doctor. Visit the doctor when you are experiencing pain, tingling, or numbness in your fingers or hand.

When holding objects becomes difficult, it's vital to see a doctor. You may also need to consult a doctor if you notice shrinking muscles.

Sometimes, the symptoms can continually get worse over time or if you experience any other unusual feelings. Hence, in these cases, it is important to see a healthcare professional for further evaluation and treatment to prevent long-term damage.

The following 15 carpal tunnel exercises will help with pain reduction by improving the range of motion. Consistent workouts can prevent the symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome from arising.

These stretches and strength-building exercises can be quite useful if employed frequently in the case of most people suffering from carpal tunnel syndrome.

You should, however, consult your doctor about other treatment options for this condition like physical therapy and surgery, in case the symptoms being experienced begin to increase or persist.