By Dr Carla Cupido • February 24th, 2009

Excessive wrist flexion is not seen in yoga, but perhaps you sit at a desk that is too low for you and your wrists are continually flexed to accomplish your typing tasks. Perhaps you slept with your wrists fully flexed only to wake up in the middle of the night with numb hands? If you do, remember that your median nerve is essentially being compressed and therefore causing your symptoms.

Compression
This is a very common cause of carpal tunnel syndrome in yoga as most people do not know how to properly place their hands on the ground in poses such as upward and downward facing dog pose. Look at the palm of your hand and draw a line from the tip of your middle finger to the crease of your wrist; now do the same from your thumb to the crease of your wrist. Where these two lines intersect is the location of your carpal tunnel. Place your hand on a flat surface and draw the meaty portions of the palm of your hand towards each other to create an arch at your carpal tunnel. Create this arch while distinctly planting each of your fingers into the ground instead of just resting on your carpal tunnel while in poses such as upward and downward dog; this will protect your carpal tunnel.

How Yoga Can Help Carpal Tunnel Syndrome?

Evidence exists in the medical research community that yoga can be an effective method for treating carpal tunnel syndrome. A study written up in the Journal of the American Medical Association showed yoga to me more effective than splinting in the management of carpal tunnel syndrome. Often, in such studies, the poses are modified to better suit the subjects with considerable symptoms.

The idea behind yoga helping is that it can floss the median nerve through the carpal tunnel to help mobilize the nerve; stretching may relieve compression on the carpal tunnel; improved joint posture could diminish intermittent compression on the nerve; the effects of blood flow restriction on the median nerve could also be improved with increased blood flow; and possibly yoga could decrease the risk of double crush nerve entrapment symptoms related to nerve entrapments closer to the neck or armpit.

Take Home Points
Through avoiding synovial sheath inflammation, excessive wrist flexion or extension, and compression of the carpal tunnel, you should be able to dodge carpal tunnel syndrome. There are a few other risk factors that play into this condition such as diabetes, obesity, pregnancy, hypothyroidism, arthritis, and trauma. Therefore, we should make a concerted effort to avoid the risk factors that are within our control. If you DO have carpal tunnel syndrome, check in with your health care practitioner to determine if yoga could be helpful for you! Be sure to be mindful of your wrists on your mat; wrists certainly are important in our lives so keep them as healthy as you can!

Click the following link for additional research information on yoga for CTS.

Learn More about Dr. Carla Cupido.

My name is Carla Cupido and I am a chiropractor in Vancouver (Kitsilano), Canada, who believes strongly in the bond between yoga and chiropractic. I will be writing a series of articles on neuromusculoskeletal conditions and their connectedness to yoga from a chiropractor's perspective. I encourage you to learn as much as you can about the human body, as the more you understand, the better able you will be to protect yourselves from injury. I wish you all the best in your practices and in your lives! Namaste.

You can contact Dr. Carla Cupido by email at carla@drcarlacupido.com or via her website: www.drcarlacupido.com.

Her practice is located at 3623 West 4th Avenue, Vancouver, V6R 1J2.
The phone number at the clinic is 604-222-4131.

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Location:  Vancouver, CA

Dr. Cupido graduated from McMaster University with a degree in the Honours Bachelor of Kinesiology program. She went on to attend the Canadian Memorial Chiropractic College from which she graduated as a Doctor of Chiropractic with...