Your Genes and Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

A recent study from Harvard Medical School says that your genetics may play a bigger role in carpal tunnel than repetitive motion or too much keyboard time. So what is carpal tunnel syndrome? Your arm has a nerve called the median nerve that runs down the arm and into the hand, controlling some of the sensations to thumb and your first three fingers. At the wrist, the median nerve passes through a space called the carpal tunnel. If the nerve becomes compressed or squeezed in the carpal tunnel, you can experience tingling (like pins-and-needles when a limb falls asleep), pain, … Continue reading

Flax Seed Oil for Carpal Tunnel

Aimee Amodio has written some fabulous blogs about carpal tunnel here on Familes.com. I include her links at the bottom of this article. I would like to share with you my own experiences with this condition and the ways I have found to control it in my life. However, you need to do what feels best to you in your circumstances; if you feel you need to be treated with more intervention, you follow that feeling. The summer I was seventeen, I did a lot of crochet, cross-stitch, and typing. As the season progressed, I noticed that my forearms were … Continue reading

Keep Yourself Fit: Get a Massage

A massage benefits your health, physically and mentally. A massage sounds so decadent and luxurious that it is often associated with pampering the rich and the famous. However, the fitness benefits of massage are so profound that even health insurance companies are getting involved to help cover the bills. If you have ever been injured, massage can help you heal your body because it smoothes the flow of the body’s fluids and helps muscles to relax. Massage can decrease the tension in muscles that are sore from a workout or that have lost vitality after being bound up in a … Continue reading

Treating RSI

If you believe you have a repetitive stress injury (RSI), here are some things you should do. Talk to your health care professional. Don’t just assume you have a repetitive stress injury! Some can be tricky to diagnose — like when I thought I had carpal tunnel syndrome but didn’t. Don’t be afraid to get a second opinion. Talk to a chiropractor, personal trainer, ergonomic specialist, or massage therapist. Let someone who has a different perspective chime in. Figure out what is causing the pain and stop doing it. Many repetitive stress injuries can be fixed by removing the source … Continue reading

Try Active Relaxation At Work

Sounds like an oxymoron, right? Active relaxation — is it possible to have one with the other? Try these gentle exercises to help beat stress and increase flexibility. If you spend most of your day sitting at a desk or in front of a computer, these stretches are for you! Wrist stretches. The dreaded carpal tunnel syndrome or repetitive strain injury are big fears for folks who spend a lot of time at the keyboard. Give your hands and wrists a break with a quick prayer stretch: place your palms together, fingers straight and push. All you need is a … Continue reading

Why Does My Body Need Vitamin B6?

There are a lot of different vitamins and minerals listed on that multivitamin label — but do you know what each one does for your body? Vitamin B6 is found in three substances: pyridoxine, pyridoxamine, and pyridoxal. So what does this vitamin do for your body? Prevent heart disease — without pyridoxine, compounds in the blood can damage blood vessels. Pyridoxine also can help lower blood pressure and cholesterol levels. Relieve PMS — vitamin B6 can help reduce bloating, breast tenderness, and premenstrual acne. Reduce sensitivity to MSG — pyridoxine can relieve symptoms like headache, pain, nausea, and vomiting. Reduce … Continue reading

Stress Balls – How Can They help You

Stress balls, or Chinese health balls as they are commonly known, date back to the Ming Dynasty (1368 – 1644). In ancient Chinese medicine, the use of these health balls was so successful that they were acclaimed as one of the Three Treasures of Baoding, China where they were created. Originally, the balls were solid and it was only later that they were designed to be hollow with sound plates inside that make various tones in the high and low ranges. According to traditional Chinese medical theory Jingluo (this term refers to the various energy pathways in the body and … Continue reading