26 weeks awful carpel tunnel syndrome

[Mumtobe888]

Hello, i have the worst carpel tunnel syndrome and my hands are so swollen today I can hardly move my fingers. at night the pain is awful I feel like my hands are going to fall off so painful! Has anyone got any tips, is it normal for me hands to be swollen?

Hi there!

without giving too much away, I am a healthcare professional who works with patients with carpal tunnel often. Pregnancy related CTS can be so miserable!

if you are sure it is carpal tunnel you could try wearing a wrist splint that holds your wrist in a neutral/straight position at night to stop you bending at the wrist and further aggravating the symptoms. Don’t overuse it as you will get a stiff wrist!

try to keep your fingers moving gently as much as possible so they don’t get stiff.

if you are really struggling have a look at your local hospital website and see if you can self refer to Hand Therapy, as they would be able to assess you and perhaps suggest some more custom options. The good news about pregnancy related CTS is that it usually resolves very quickly after the birth!

best of luck!

Solidarity OP, I'm 36+6 and have had rubbish carpal tunnel symptoms for the last 6 weeks now.
Really looking forward to having normal function back in my hands soon!

I had it quite bad in my last pregnancy, I wore a splint at night and also for parts of the day too. I was give some exercises to try, but not sure they made much difference tbh. It’s horrible, so you have my sympathies.
As pp said, it went almost immediately after giving birth luckily.
I am pregnant again (25 weeks) and so far haven’t developed it again, hoping it stays that way!

I had CT with my pregnancies and waiting for it to kick in again with current pregnancy. I had it so badly in my previous pregnancy that I thought I had somehow broken my wrist! You need to wear a splint at night, I also found sleeping with the arm hanging off the bed really helped too.

Another recommendation for wrist splints at night, they were the main thing that relieved my carpal tunnel symptoms while I was pregnant. Also contrast bathing to relieve discomfort, hand/wrist massage (a good one for your partner to help with) and gentle exercises that keep your fingers and wrists moving.