stiff hands...

[Ilovemyboy]

Has anyone else suffered with stiff hands during pregnancy?

It has been going on for about a month now. They feel bad in a morning when I get up then it eases off during the day.

I told my GP at my antenatal appt yesterday and he didn't seem too concerned. Having done some Googling, it seems that it could be carpal tunnel syndrome which is common in pregnancy.

It is getting on my nerves.

Anyone else?

I posted this in the wrong forum. Doh!

Will re-post in 'pregnancy'.

I suffered quite badly from Carpal Tunnel Syndrome - did tell my GP but again, wasn't offered much advice other than to try and keep my arms/hands elevated at some point (!), and twist in a circular motion/get partner to massage. You almost have to drain the fluid away, but stroking from your hand down towards your arm. It went pretty much after I gave birth. Good luck!

Thanks Can.

My knuckles are the worst and are really stiff. Is this how you felt?

Hope it goes after my baby is born.

If it is carpal tunnel syndrome, it goes away. Try to cut down on salt as it can make you retain water.

Thanks for the tip.

Will cut down on salt and get massaging my arms. Bloody pregnancy!!!

My hands would go numb towards the end - like pins and needles type numbness.

Makes opening jars a real PITA.

i got cts in 2nd preg & it didn't go away after birth. ended up having 'release ' ops on both wrists - took a long time to recover but things better now.

don't ignore it if it persists after baby born as you can end up with nerve damage loss of feeling/pain sensation in hands - i'm like that to an extent in one hand - but its livable with. cps has only reared its ugly head in final 2 wks of this preg so hope it will disappear after big day tomorrow!

keeping hands up is crap suggestion - you can ask to be referred to pg physio to get some splints for night time - these do help.

I got this too - and still have it some nights / mornings (baby now 9 wks old).

What really helped during pregnancy for me, was wearing velcro wrist straps during the night - to prevent me bending the wrist and laying on it or twisting a wrist in the night and being woken by the sharp pain.

ALso helpful was soaking in a warm bath and then running the wrists under the cold tap - hot and cold alternating took a lot of the discomfort and stiffness away.

I had a session with a Physio and that made it worse - I could have bitten my own arms I was in so much pain afterwards for days. One paracetamol helped that stage...

Good luck. Its not fun and it can get progressively worse during pregnancy, but usually clears up within 3 months afterwards, I believe.