Pregnant & Feeling Pain in your Hand and/or Wrist?

Being pregnant goes hand in hand with a lot of strange feelings, awkward experiences, and unknown pain.  As wonderful as growing and bring a child into the world truly is, the actual process of being pregnant is physically hard and taxing on your body.  One of the most common complaints of pregnant women is that of swelling and water retention.  Usually, we hear about it in the feet and ankles {for me, especially when flying!!}, but hand and wrist swelling is quite common as well.  Interestingly, I recently read in Your Pregnancy, Week by Week that it is water retention and swollen hands and wrists that causes 1 in 4, or 25%, of pregnant women to feel Carpal Tunnel Syndrome symptoms during their pregnancies.  By way of review, Carpal Tunnel Syndrome {CTS} is when you feel pain in your hand and/or wrist which can extend into the forearm and shoulder caused by the compression of the median nerve in the wrist.  CTS symptoms include numbness, tingling or burning of the inner half of one or both hands, with a numb or useless feeling in fingers.  Pregnant women usually feel these symptoms in both hands, probably due to equal swelling and water retention in both.   

Tips for Reducing Wrist/Hand Pain

The good news is that treatment is rarely required for pregnant women in that the symptoms generally go away after delivery, presumably when the body quits retaining water and swelling.  The bad news is that you have to ait until you have the baby to feel better, and many of us need to work on a computer or use our cell phones regularly, both of which cause pain. Since no pregnant woman needs to suffer from unnecessary pain, here are some tips and tools for reducing wrist and hand pain.  

• Correct your posture.  You may not realize that there is proper and improper hand and wrist positioning.  Essentially, DON'T bend or cock your wrists.  DO everything you can to avoid cocking or bending of your wrists.  If you feel pain as you are typing, texting, or mousing, stop what you are doing and re-position yourself.
• Try ergonomic products.  In particular, an ergonomic keyboard is designed to better your hands, while an ergonomic mouse makes mousing more natural and less straining for your wrists.  Regardless of what keyboard and mouse you're using, be sure to keep them side-by-side and on the same surface to reduce movement and therefore injury.  So, lastly, a keyboard tray will store both and at a lower spot so your arms, wrists, and hands can work more comfortably.
• Wear a wrist splint. If you're already experiencing wrist pain, one of the trouble spots is night time.  So often, we flex our wrists and sleep with them in quite odd positions, never even aware of it.  This is especially true of pregnant women who are known for their strange sleep positions!  Thus, wearing a wrist splint at night time can protect you from doing more harm.

Using an ergonomic keyboard and ergonomic mouse at work and wearing a wrist splint at night can greatly reduce wrist pain and injury as you finish out your pregnancy.

Wrist Pain & Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

Many people suffer from wrist pain- athletes, musicians, heavy tool operators, and computer users.  Actually, the rise of technology has only added to the number of people who have wrist pain.  That's because we use our computers, laptops, netbooks, kindles, iWhatevers, and all our cell phones constantly- in fact, as I picked my daughter up from school today and walked by 10 parked cars, 8 of the 10 had a waiting parent texting!  That's a lot of hand and wrist use through the course of the day, and it adds up to a lot of potential strain.

The main issue is with the sensitive Carpal Tunnel area that houses the median nerve, which runs with tendons from the forearm to the hand and along the carpal tunnel. This tunnel is made up of bones and a band of strong connective tissue.  Unfortunately, in carpal tunnel syndrome, the tendons become inflamed which then compress the median nerve in the tunnel leading to the symptoms.  This condition becomes a reality for people who use their hands and wrists a lot, which certainly includes what I'm doing right now: typing and mousing on my laptop! 

Tips to Avoid & Relieve Wrist Pain

To avoid or relieve pain in this area, there are several things you can {and should!} do:

• Correct your posture.  You may not realize that there is proper and improper hand and wrist positioning.  Essentially, DON'T bend or cock your wrists.  DO everything you can to avoid cocking or bending of your wrists.  If you feel pain as you are typing, texting, or mousing, stop what you are doing and re-position yourself.  
• Try ergonomic products.  In particular, an ergonomic keyboard is designed to better your hands, while an ergonomic mouse makes mousing more natural and less straining for your wrists.  Regardless of what keyboard and mouse you're using, be sure to keep them side-by-side and on the same surface to reduce movement and therefore injury.  So, lastly, a keyboard tray will store both and at a lower spot so your arms, wrists, and hands can work more comfortably.
• Wear a wrist splint.  If you're already experiencing wrist pain, one of the trouble spots is night time.  So often, we flex our wrists and sleep with them in quite odd positions, never even aware of it.  Thus, wearing a wrist splint at night time can protect you from doing more harm.

Using an ergonomic keyboard and ergonomic mouse at work and wearing a wrist splint at night can greatly reduce wrist pain and injury.

Wrist pain is sadly all too common for typists and mostly because of the discomfort they feel in the sensitive Carpal Tunnel area of the wrist and hand.  Usually it's a result of typing with bad habits, whether you realize it or not.   Whether you're looking to avoid wrist pain or to alleviate it, here are some tips for managing wrist pain and developing better habits.

Fast Relief from Pain

If you're suffering from constant pain, here are some quick fixes. 

• Use a wrist splint. Don't worry- you don't have to wear it while typing!  A wrist splint is meant to keep your hand and wrist straight and flat, which is particularly helpful at night since that's when you're the most unaware of flexing or bending your wrist.  Check out these tips for how and when to use a wrist splint.
• Apply cold compresses or ice. While cold packs can really help reduce inflammation, be sure not to apply ice packs right to your skin.  There should be some sort of buffer between it and your wrist and you should only use the packs for 15 to 20 minutes at a time.  

Ergonomic Tips to Reduce and Prevent Pain

• Check your hand and wrist posture.  There are several important things you need to know about your physical wrist positioning while typing.  1) Hover your hands over the keyboard while typing.  2) Don't rest your wrists on a wrist rest. 3) Relax and curve your hands, as if holding a baseball, resisting any clinching or tension.  4)  Keep your wrists level, never flexed or bent upward.  5) Keep your hands, wrists and arms straight, forming a line from your elbow to your middle finger.

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• Upgrade to ergonomic tools. It's hard to practice good wrist positioning with standard equipment.   An ergonomic keyboard will help you maintain good hand and wrist posture, as will an ergonomic mouse.  Mice with track ball, can help reduce the strain of holding something that's too small for your hand. To find the best fit, try several styles to find one that comfortable and fits your hands.
• Use your wrist rest properly.  While it's tempting to actually rest your wrists on a wrist rest, you should actually never put pressure directly on your wrist or you may agitate the carpal tunnel area. Rather, support your arms on the ball of your hands in between periods of typing.

Pay attention to any discomfort or pain in your wrists and hands! A good wrist splint can help provide protection from injury and allow time for healing. Also, try upgrading to an ergonomic keyboard to encourage good typing posture in the future. Even simple changes can go a long way to protecting you from pain and injury.