Do you regularly engage in activities that require repetitive and strenuous movements? These could include using a computer mouse, typing on a keyboard, writing with a pen, hammering with a jackhammer, or drilling with a driller. These activities can strain your wrist and put undue pressure on the median nerve. That is the nerve that passes through your wrist to the palm side of the hand, an area known as the carpal tunnel. It is responsible for providing sensation to your fingers and impulse control to the thumb.

When the median nerve gets compressed due to overexertion, you may experience tingling, numbness, swelling, or pain around your thumb and wrist area, and even weakness in your fingers. Sometimes you may find it hard to move your thumb and the first four fingers. That is known as carpal tunnel syndrome. It can also happen if you suffer from chronic health conditions like diabetes, high blood pressure, rheumatoid arthritis, and thyroid dysfunction. It can become a debilitating health issue if you don’t take steps to mitigate it.

Wearing a wrist brace can make a significant difference in alleviating your carpal tunnel symptoms. To wear it, slide your thumb through the thumb hole and then wrap it about your wrist and hand. Adjust it as necessary to get the desired level of snugness and then fasten it. Make sure it feels comfortable and is not too tight.

Here is why you should wear a wrist brace for carpal tunnel symptoms:

It can keep your wrist straight

 When you are suffering from carpal tunnel symptoms, constantly bending or overextending your wrist can put further pressure on the median nerve and aggravate the condition. To avoid that, you need to keep your wrist straight as much as possible. Wearing a wrist brace can assist with that and will take the strain off the median nerve. That will prevent flare-ups, reduce the inflammation and pain, and will, over time, alleviate your symptoms. You should especially make a point of wearing the wrist brace when you sleep as you may unknowingly bend your wrist then.

When getting a wrist brace, it is essential to make sure that it fits snugly about your wrist to offer the necessary protection. At the same time, you don’t want the brace to be so tight that it ends up putting additional pressure on the median nerve.

It allows muscle movements

While you want to keep your wrist straight to prevent straining it, you do need to be able to move your muscles without impediment. If the wrist brace restricts muscle movements, the muscles could become stiff and even start to atrophy, and you will have a whole new set of problems. Additionally, a very tight wrist brace could restrict the movement of blood and lymph from your fingers to the wrist and vice versa. The movement of these fluids is crucial for removing metabolic waste and supplying nutrients to your tissues.

It can speed up your recovery

 Many people have reported experiencing relief from pain after wearing a wrist brace, especially at night. It will support and protect the nerves and tendons in your wrist and will give them time to recuperate from strain and stress. However, you shouldn’t wear the wrist brace continuously. Wearing it for too long can be as detrimental as immobilizing your wrist. Your body could become so accustomed to having it on that taking it off would feel uncomfortable. So, do remove it from time to time and use your wrist joint normally.

In addition to wearing a brace, you may also need to make sure that your body positioning isn’t aggravating the problem. If it is, it may be a good idea to rethink the ergonomics of your body positioning in your workspace and other places. If possible, you could reposition furniture and get more comfortable equipment, so that you can work or do things without having to strain or pressurize your wrist too much. It may also help to do frequent exercises to strengthen your joints and keep them flexible.

It will take a combination of regular exercise, better body positioning, and wearing the wrist brace to relieve your carpal tunnel symptoms.