# carpal tunnel while nursing



## Mamajamz (Oct 31, 2002)

Hello all. Anybody ever have carpal tunnel syndrome while nursing? I don't get it when pregnant, just while nursing. Any experience or natural remedies?


----------



## m&m (Nov 20, 2001)

I have it most of the time. Homeopathics have helped, and nursing laying down or pillows for support. And trying to lift weights to strengthen the whole arm has helped.

Also pineaples can help with bromelain, a natural anti inflammatory.

I have now reduced my pain to less than 1 per week rather than constant.


----------



## MysticHealerMom (Oct 7, 2002)

glucosamine sulfate works very well for carpal tunnel, joint and tendon issues. It isn't contraindicated for anything, but do go ahead and check. And be sure to get just that in the formula, it's expensive so a lot of manufacturers add other stuff - chrondoitrin and MSM are also helpful, and sometimes included, but the bulk of the work comes from glucosamine with sulfate.


----------



## teachma (Dec 20, 2002)

Oh yeah, bad carpal tunnel while nursing for the first 18 months! During the last year, I guess my arms finally got used to it or something. Total numbness of arms during the night too. It sucked.


----------



## DaryLLL (Aug 12, 2002)

Is that similar to tendonitis? I got that with my fist. She was born huge, 10'2", and just kept growing. I was told by my exercise class teacher to ice it down twice a day, and use a wrist brace. You can get one at the drugstore.

Wear your baby in a sling to carry. Dont' try and lug him around in the car seat!


----------



## Meiri (Aug 31, 2002)

Daryll, I think it's a form of tendonitis in which the nerves down into the hand are affected. I had it so bad at one point I couldn't move my hand, let alone without pain--just before I got pg with DD.

Anti-inflamatories, ala ibuprophen, can help. Icing it down when it flares up....

I had mine returning after DD was born, due to wher her head laid on my arm when she nursed. When I consciously changed the position of my arm(maybe put more support under her with a pillow?) it settled and went away again.

Mine will also try to flare up if I don't watch my computer time or stretch my hands enough when I'm typing.


----------



## OhMel (Oct 16, 2002)

I received a lot of relief after I went to the chiropractor. He did some stuff at the shoulder and then had a massotherapist work on my arm. The massage hurt a ton, but the pain went away.

mel


----------



## Aster (Aug 12, 2002)

After i had been taking B6 Vite for a while my carpal tunnel went away (not why i was taking it, but a nice side effect







). Just be careful while you're bf'ing though bc it can lower your supply. When i started taking it, my supply dropped a bit for about a week, then balanced back out again.


----------



## Mamajamz (Oct 31, 2002)

Thank you all for your help!


----------



## ebethmom (Jan 29, 2002)

I've wondered if other nursing Moms had these kinds of problems! I developed carpal tunnel syndrome when I was pregnant (preeclampsia!). That went away, but my wrists have hurt off and on the entire 17 months that we've been nursing.

My massage therapist told me that my carpal band is still too loose. I keep injuring my hand when I carry ds. Wish we could still use the sling - he won't have it! The bones in the back of my hand MUSH together.

I'm a professional violist, so hand and wrist injuries are a huge deal. My massage therapist and my new chiropractor have shown me some exercises, and I think they're helping.


----------



## muse (Apr 17, 2002)

Digging up this old thread rather than start a new one since you all have touched on what I'm dealing with...I've had problems with my left wrist for a few years (I'm a trumpet player and hold the trumpet with that hand) and now after 21 months of nursing and carrying Ds I'm in agony. It's really bad the last week and now I can barely move my hand/wrist at all. I'm seeing a chirpractor but am not convinced it's useful and don't have a lot of money to be trying a million other treatments. I'm worried i will have to wean Ds quite soon because of this. I'm not sure if this is carpal tunnel or tendonitis or what...right now I feel like it's broken or something it's so painful and stuck, I feel like a bus ran over my hand. OUCH. Any help or suggestions (exercises, treatments, remedies, etc) appreciated.....


----------



## ebethmom (Jan 29, 2002)

I just had a flare up again last week. I've been able to shift the way I hold ds during nursing - I'm careful not to bend my wrist. But carrying him just messes me up.

I've been icing my hand/wrist and taking Advil. And I've been wearing a velcro wrap during the day.

My chiropractor told me to put an elastic band around my finger tips and thumb and use it as resistance, fanning my fingers out. I don't do this exercise when my hand is hurting. I ice it to get the swelling down first.

I've really babied my hand this week. Dh was with us all day for several days in a row, so I was careful not to pick ds up at all. And when it's just ds and myself, I've been avoiding the places where I have to pick him up to keep him out of trouble.

Good luck, Muse! My hand is actually feeling better today. Good thing, too. I have 15 services to play in the next 11 days. Glad to be working, but YIKES!


----------



## UlrikeDG (Sep 4, 2002)

B6!!!!

I also find that yoga helps, but B6 helps more! I take 50-100 mg/day.


----------



## muse (Apr 17, 2002)

elizabeth, good luck with the playing! i have a lot of sympathy for how hard it is when pain gets in the way of playing your music.

I was doing yoga but ow ther's so many poses i can't do because my wrist is so stuck. but i will try the simple tuff, and i'll try the B6. I wonder at what point i should get an x-ray? my chiropractor syas wait 4-6 weeks but that seems an awfully long time right now. it's no better at all tha 5 days ago.

i've shifted the way i nurse ds and trying to cut it down to 3x a day, and avoiding lifting him as much as possible. of coutrse all this is leading to a much grumpier toddler...







:


----------



## DaryLLL (Aug 12, 2002)

Muse, if you have had wrist pain, stemming from subluxations in the neck affecting nerve impulse flow, for yrs, chiropractic can take a few weeks to straighten everything out. You can not expect instant results.

I had a debilitatingly bad back from yrs of carrying enormous babies and toddlers. Plus heredity. It took a good month for relief to begin.

Note I say pain from *carrying* babies. Nursing had nothing to do with it, unless you plan to prop bottles and no longer carry your kids.


----------



## muse (Apr 17, 2002)

all good points DaryLLL, and the nerve impulse explanation helps a lot.


----------

