What can help carpal tunnel syndrome?

I know when I worked in IT I would often leave the office mentally very tired and depending upon how trying the day had been somtimes I was just mentally exhausted but often I was not physically tired.  The simplest solution to this conundrum is to go down the gym and burn of the excess physical energy and going to the gym also helps to switch off from work.   However there are times when we are injured or feeling run down when this is not possible, so then what can you do? Recently I have seen a few people in clinic who are in this situation.  This means they are stuggling to switch off from work and relax.  So  I wanted to share a few tips on how to handle this if it happens to you. Depending upon the injury you can:

• Start taking the stairs at work - even if you can't walk up all the flights of stairs for example if you are based on the top floor, you can walk up some flights and take the lift for the rest.
• Go swimming instead of going to the gym.
• Get of the train or tube one stop earlier and walk the rest of the way (this obviously depends upon your commute).
• Go for a walk in park or any type of greenery.
• A lot of museams in London have a late night opening, so why not go walk around a museam.
• If you have a garden, do some gardening.

 

Having spoken previously about why poor posture is bad for you, I wanted to move on to give you a simple exercise that helps promote good posture.  Brugger's exercise routine is devised to activate postural muscles weakened and simultaneously stretched by a prolonged sitting posture. Slumped Position Check the tension in your upper back and shoulders in the slumped posture and then in the Brugger's position, to see if you notice any difference as the muscle tension is dramatically reduced. Brugger Exercise Posture Step By Step Guide

1. Sit perched towards the edge of your seat; this will naturally place your lower back into a curve (lumbar lordosis) with your butt sticking out a little.  As you do this your breastbone (sternum) will naturally lift up.
2. Separate your legs to 45 degrees each side with your feet turned out slightly and in line with your knees.
3. Your shoulders are relaxed and down with your chin tucked in, making the back of your neck longer – imagine a piece of string is attached to the top of your head and someone is lifting you up.
4. Fully straighten (extend) both elbows and arms.
5. Make sure you keep your shoulders down and imagine your shoulder blades [scapula] are pushing down and together to form a V.
6. Turn your thumbs out (externally rotate), palms up.
7. Separate your fingers.
8. You should now be in the position show above in the Brugger's exercise posture picture.
9. Hold for 30 seconds.

Ideally you should perform the Brugger's exercise once for every thirty minutes of sitting, so why not try this once a day. PS The Science This exercise was developed by a Swiss Neurologist called Alois Brugger MD,  the exercise is neither a traditional stretch or strengthening technique but works neurologically by being complementary to the way your body is wired to work. Our bodies are neurologically much stronger in all of our flexor muscles. This is displayed perfectly if we look at a person with a neurological disorder, e.g. cerebral palsy; their body naturally has increased tension (hypertension) in the flexor muscles, also known as the spastic posture. This demonstrates our natural prosperity to an Upper Cross Posture which often develops when we sit for prolonged periods of time in a slumped position. Muscles work in groups. When one group is working then the opposing group are unable to work (inhibited).  An easy example to visualise of this is when you place food in your mouth. To do this you flex your fingers, wrist muscles, bicep muscles and pecs., all flexors. However, to be able to do this you have to inhibit your finger extensors, wrist extensors, triceps, rhomboids etc. This is called reciprocal inhibition. If you were unable to do this you would be unable to feed yourself. The Brugger exercise works on the principal of reciprocal inhibition. When doing this exercise you are activating all your extensor muscles and therefore inhibiting all of your (usually hyper activated) flexor muscles.  

When we are under pressure, stressed or anxious our bodies react, for some people this means they develop tension in the neck & shoulders, for others they get butterflies in their stomach or their digestive system becomes more sensitive. Stress messes with your they bacteria in your gut and creates a viscous circle that makes stress and anxiety attacks even worse.  While we are all familiar with probiotics or good bacteria which you can buy in tablet form in health food shops or are added to yogurts.  What you may be less familiar with are  prebiotics which are the "food" for the good bacteria in your gut.  Prebiotics can undo the impact stress has on the gut.  They are found in plant fibers like

• raw chicory root
• raw Jerusalem artichoke
• raw garlic
• raw leeks
• raw asparagus
• raw and cooked onions

Researches from the University of Colorado discovered eating prebiotics has a protective effect and can help to safeguard good bacteria in your gut during times of stress.  They also discovered eating prebiotics can even help reestablish good sleeping patterns. References https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28119579