Carpal Tunnel & Wrist Pain 4-Posterior Kinetic Chain

We continue on our exploration of common body connections to carpal tunnel and wrist pain by looking at the Anterior Kinetic Chain today. This video looks at the fascial ties between the wrist extensors (back of hand), up the arm across the abdomen to the opposite inner thigh. In this exploration, we start with options for self-massage, easy stretches and then coordinated movements to establish more mind body awareness.

One of my favorite ways for releasing the front of the shoulder (deltoid) and chest is cupping. Putting a gentle oil on the skin like jojoba or coconut oil and then dragging the cup across the area is an incredible fascial release. Then I walk you through a way to release tension in your forearms through a forearm massage, followed up with how to foam roll your inner thighs.

Then we begin the stretching portion with a groin stretch. I don’t demo stretching the abdomen, but an easy way to do this would be to lay over a yoga ball or use an inversion table. You’re looking for any situation where you can be in a supported backbend. My favorite way of stretching the pecs is on the floor—we’ll go through stretching the pec major and minor. I’ll then demo some variations on how to stretch the forearms.

The activation portion of this lesson starts with a a simple cross body, core exercise to feel the obliques between your hip and opposite shoulder. To make this more challenging, you could do this on a foam roller. To strengthen the wrist, I highly recommend the small, $10 investment in these, but you can use a rubber band for the exercise demonstrated in this video.

Strong hands=strong core!

Carpal Tunnel & Wrist Pain 3-Posterior Kinetic Chain

In this episode we look at how the opposite side of the body affects the side you have wrist pain or Carpal Tunnel. The Posterior Kinetic Chain runs up the triceps, to the back of the shoulder and neck and then comes across the mid-back, connecting down to the calves.

We start this lesson with a simple calf, outer hamstring and glute massage on a foam roller. Then we follow that self-soft tissue release up the back to the neck and down the tricep line.

Following the structure of the rest of the course, once things are loosened up, we stretch. In this case using a figure 4 stretch for the glutes and then using a variety of hand angles to stretch the back. Since this line crosses the body, a great way to stretch is through twisting and rotation. So, next comes a yummy, full-body stretch that doubles as a great core exercise. We wrap up the stretching portion by getting at the target area—the hands, by stretching the palm muscles, as well as the thumb pocket.

Finally, we double back and activate the chain aspect of this backbody kinetic connection starting with a lunge exercise. This particular variation is to wake up the connections needed in gait (how you walk), mindfully integrating the calf to the opposite shoulder blade. That exercise is followed up with a small back extension exercise on a foam roller. In Pilates, it’s known as swan, in yoga, it’s a variation on cobra. Again, the goal here is to get the triceps, mid-back and rear end all talking to one another. We end at our target area and use some simple props you can buy in a grip kit to strengthen the fingers and wrist to help alleviate and prevent chronic wrist pain.

Enjoy and thanks for watching!

Wrist and Forearm Stretches

We’ve all felt that wrist pain and tension from a long day of typing, gaming, working out, cleaning or yard work. I wanted to offer some of my favorite tools and tips for loosening up the hands, wrists and forearms.

Here’s a video for some simple wrist extensor stretches and a forearm massage:

There are also a couple tools from over the years that I find really help (and are worth the investment) in keeping my hands and forearms loose. If your hands are tight, you won’t be able to access the muscles in your upper arms and shoulders correctly. I can’t tell you how many times someone has walked into my studio wanting to be better at planks/push ups and so much of it has to do with tension in their lower arms. We get that loosened up and BOOM, they recruit their core much better and have more stability in the shoulder girdle.

Breo Hand Massager

Breo Hand Massager

This thing can be too intense for people some people—personally, I love it. This hand massager also does trigger point release all over the hand and will size to conform to the shape of your hand. If you have arthritis or an autoimmune/inflammatory condition that affects your hands, I would not purchase. It has a heat function that I love any time, particularly in winter. I actually sleep better on the nights I do this and notice that I’m not as apt to clench my fists when I sleep—yes I do that too. It will leave an imprint in your palms for about 10 minutes, just a heads up.

Armaid

This thing is amazing if you do repetitive gripping—

• Bodyworkers

• Manual laborers/those who do a lot of work with tools/handiwork

• Athletes—golfers, tennis players, weight lifters, climbers, aerialists

• Knitters/sewers/crafters

• Gamers

• Artists

It easily pivots around and so you can do both sides of each arm. You can also purchase more intense trigger point release balls that intensify the experience. That said, you can size this thing really tight, so I feel like I get a good experience without the turbo props. I bring it with me when I do aerials and it helps my forearms from seizing up in between climbs. Relieving tension in the forearms also helps loosen up the shoulders, making proper form and bodmechanics easier.

Taking care of our hands is something that we often neglect until we start feeling pain. Keeping your forearms loose will not only help head off some more painful conditions like carpal tunnel pains and tennis elbow, you’ll better access the supporting muscles of your shoulder blades and core as you use your hands. The uncoiling massage I’ve created takes this to a completely new level. I’ve had great success with helping people alleviate various arm pains as well as chronic neck pain and even lessening headaches. I recommend these tools and tips for self-care for my clients in between sessions.

If you purchase from the links provided, I do receive a small percentage as an Amazon affiliate.