Postpartum Carpal Tunnel Syndrome?

I have experienced it (not post partum though) the thing that helped me was a chiropracter. He adjusted my back shoulder and wrist. I am now pain free with no splints or injections. It only took once to feel better and every now and then to keep it there.

I have experienced that numbness, not related to birth. Some nerves were being pinched by my spine.I went to a good chiropractor and with just two adjustments it went away. I recommend Dr. Jake Quishuis at Chiropractic Care on 4th St in Santa Rosa. I think his number is ###-###-####.If I have this number wrong, please email me at ____@____.com and I will look it up for you.
P

Question: have you been falling asleep in odd positions that might make your neck muscles tighten up? (sitting in a chair?) Or working a lot on the computer? I (and have my co-workers, all computer geeks) have this problem, and I have a group of stretch exercises that my physical therapist assigned for me to do which will cure me if I do them consistently for several days to loosen up my neck. The second question is are you taking a lot of B6? It is in many suppliments for new moms, so you might want to check your vitamins, and see if together they add up to over 200 mg per day. There have been reports of some persons being sensitive to B6, and having sysmptoms of numbness and tingling when taking over 200 mg. If you are taking over 200 mg, elemiinate as many of the sources as you can for about 2 weeks, if the tingling goes away (assuming you aren't also doing neck relaxing exercises) you may be sensative, and need to keep it below the 200 mg limit. My doctor did this as the first test for my tingling issue, I'm not sensitive but the stretches worked for me. He said it was still a good idea to stay under 200 mg on the B6, and I have. Sometimes this kind of thing is related to general stress, and guess what - no matter what else is going on in you life, having a baby is stressful! If it is stress related, it may go away as you get back to a more organized life, but you should bring it up with your doctor anyway.

Hi Raquel, My daughter has carpal tunnel/repetitive strain in both hands. The remedies she has found most helpful are hot/cold contrast baths (alternate placing hands in very cold water and then very hot water) and insuring that she sleeps with her hands at her sides (never above the head or under the pillow). She also tries to keep her hands warm, since injury contributes to poor circulation and poor circulation slows healing of the injury. She frequently wears fingerless gloves, even indoors and warm weather. When you need to lift, try to use your whole arm to support the weight, not just your hands/wrists. Best of luck.

Hello R.: Make sure that you talk with your doctor about this. I found that when my daughter in laws were pregnanat they went through something simular once they had lost the extra weight they gained the problem went away.
Any excess pressure on the nerves will make it compress and cause the numbness and pain.
I used to give my girls ice or ice packs to hold on the wrists that helped them a lot.
Good Luck, Nana G

Hi R. - I have had similar issues. A combination of chiropractic and message therapies made a huge difference. The change was not immediate but it has been lasting. Also, I found a really good daily supplement from ViSalus Sciences. It has a great combination of essential oils that have made a difference for my joints.

I loved the products so much I became a distributor. You can check my website www.sharingbetterhealth.myvi.net for more information. The supplements are called Vi-Pak.

Whatever you decide to do, I wish you the best of health.

~ B.

Congratulations on your new arrival!
I got this while I was pregnant this last time too, but I was missdiagnosed with "Carpal Tunnel". It was actually a pinched nerve between my shoulders from a missaligned rib. I had it adjusted by a chiropractor several times while I was preg. and then once or twice after the baby was born and it hasn't been a problem since. I found that my joints were especially loose with this pregnancy and as long as everything was aligned after then I was fine. But I imagine if your out of alignment, then the pain won't go away until something gives.
Best wishes,
T

Hi Raquel,

This is a common symptom I see in my chiropractic practice, numbnes and tingling pain in one or both hands. During pregnancy, as you know, fluid retention is likely the culprit in developing Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. At your stage, however, this isn't the case and the persistent symptoms are likely tied to musculoskeletal strain at the joints and muscles either exiting the neck or nearer the wrist, both conditions producing numbness in the hands.

If the numbness is in the entire hand(s) it is likely it is not originating primarily from the wrist but instead is being strained where the neck and shoulder meet as a bundle of nerves exit from this area and course through the shoulder and arm ending at the wrist and hand. P

Postural changes which occur due to nursing, interrupted sleep, abnormal neck positions can perpetuate the lingering problem.

Whether your numbness is centered on the thumb side, pinkie side or whole hand, at this stage of chronicity you'd benefit from an examination to identify strain to either the ligaments, muscle or joint which may be irritating the function of the involved nerves and producing your pain. Chiropractic care is very quick and effective at dealing with this issue and I highly recommend it.

I had it too although they called it tendonitis. Are you breastfeeding? For me it was related to supporting my daughter while she was nursing. I did physical therapy and wore braces at night and it got much better as my daughter became more mobile and as the feedings dropped off. I also took an anti-inflammatory (I think the generic name was lodine).
Good luck,
C.

Hi R.,

I had carpal tunnel in both wrists due to my carreer as a hairstylist. I found that over using the wrist blocks the energy from flowing the way it is suppose to and can cause problems. The blood can not flow through the way it is suppose to.

I started using special wraps on my wrists and now I do not have any problems with them. If I over use my wrists and it starts to bother me I put the wraps back on and I am fine.

If you would like to know more let me know and I will send you info on it.

Have a great day.

N. Marie

You need to consult your doctor! You may think you can handle the pain, but how can you take care of a baby with hands that don't work right??

http://www.naturalnews.com/026883_thyroid_carpal_tunnel_s...

It is likely tendonitis. I had it terribly!! I feel for you as I know it is super painful. The doctor gave me a special brace for it. I got acupuncture for it as well. It still took at least 9 months for it to go away. I just read that someone went to a chiropractor for it and it really makes sense. I would highly recommend it!

Ditto to what Shannon F said about your muscles getting tight b/c of the way you hold your baby. The tight muscles were pinching my nerves. I had the same exact problem but not nearly as bad. I ended up getting massages every 2-3 weeks and that helped a LOT. It eventually went away after about 4-5 months.

If you're not already using a Boppy pillow to help when you feed baby that came in REALLY handy for me to make sure I wasn't hunching my shoulders over and making those pec and shoulder muscles tight.

Hope it gets better soon!

J.

I was going to mention B12 but see that Wendi already did! Get your B12 levels tested soon. Low B12 cause cause neuropathy. Read about it! Doctors will tell you that if you are eating meat, you should not be low in it but many things cause you not to ABSORB the B12. You should get tested ASAP then start supplements. There are supplements you can take that dissolve under your tongue if you don't like taking pills.

It sounds like a pinched nerve. I see pinched nerves all the time. There are many ways that you can help the pain. Do you do yoga? The gentle stretching and holding moves of yoga will help. A chiropractic adjustment will help too. I am a Bowen therapist.Bowen will help also. I basically gently move the muscle around and make sure it's in the right place, thus freeing up the nerve that runs through the muscle. If you live near Watsonville, I have time on Tuesday, and I will see you at no charge. Otherwise to learn about Bowen you can go to my website and look under Bowen texhnique. The address is www.centralcoasthomeopathy.com. I'd like you to enjoy breastfeeding your baby.:-)

R.,
My doctor told me I was lacking in B12 when that happened to me. I ended up taking supplements to increase the amount in my system and it was much better within a week.
W. M;

I had the same issue after I had my son. It seem to come on as I was breastfeeding him or holding him when feeding him a bottle. especially in my left hand. It got so bad that I could barely hold him or a bottle in my hand. I got the same thing, tingling and pain near the wrist bone. It just hurt to touch.

Once I stopped holding my son and breastfeeding it went away. Now I only have the pain in my right hand, which is also a result of using my cell phone and texting a lot.

It took my left hand close to 9mo to feel better. Right hand, still bothers me but not as bad as before.

If you are not better w/in a year, i'd have it checked out by a dr. did you have natural child birth or c-section? Sometimes when the nerves are cut, you get underline issues later on, as i did :( ugh...

Try heat and cold compresses, that seemed to help me and ibroprofene (sp?)

good luck!

had major carp tun DURING both my pregnancies, but better after one month. guess your excess fluid is still working it's way out? ice plunge - pitcher of water & ice dip in for a few seconds at a time. ice packs. ask your Dr for RX to Phys Therapy. hope it gets better - i'm sure it will.

Your pecs are probably tight. You get this when you are pregnant from your heavy baby and then it gets worse when you are carrying your little baby around. The nerves that go down to your hands can become pinched when your pectorals are tight. Make sure that you are very aware of keeping your shoulders back.

To stretch this out, stand in a doorway and place your forearm on the frame with fingers pointing up and then lean your body forward. You can adjust the height of the arm to get the different areas of your pecs.

Even though I am a massage therapist and I know better, I definately let this happen to me too! You have to take time to take care of yourself!

Hope that this helps!

I didn't have carpal tunnel syndrome, but I had problems with other tendons after pregancy. Yoga has been a blessing for stretching out the joints and increasing blood flow. I practice Bikram yoga, but find one that works for you. You may also want to look at a liquid calcium, magnesium supplement, which will help a lot.

Good luck!