Are You Making Your Carpal Tunnel Recovery Worse Without Knowing It

Transcript

Why Aftercare Matters

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Hey, we're having fun today talking about carpal tunnel syndrome surgery. What do you do after carpal tunnel syndrome surgery? Hi, I'm Carl Potato from the Hand to Shoulder Solution where Pain Meets Its Match. Today we're talking about carpal tunnel syndrome surgery and what should you not do after surgery? And what you should not do is equally and arguably more important than what you should do. If you're listening to this in your car, be sure to watch the video so you can see demonstrations as well. So let's talk about aftercarpal tunnel syndrome surgery.

What The Surgery Changes

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So, real briefly, the surgeon will go underneath the skin, cut the ligament that goes over the top right here in the heel of your palm, that forms the roof of the carpal tunnel, that gets released in order to release the pressure off the nerve. So the whole reason for the surgery is to release the pressure off of the nerve. Therefore, if you were to massage it and rub it, that's terrible for it because now you're putting pressure back on the nerve. But let's talk about immediately after surgery.

Swelling And Elevation Basics

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It's going to be maybe a little bit sore, might be a little inflamed. And the inflammatory phase of wound healing lasts between about a week to two weeks. So we we want to respect that phase, and that's when the body is sending a little bit of uh swelling. The lymphatic system is moving the lymph fluid around, pulling bacteria out of the area. It's a key component of the immune system because it's removing bacteria and helping to prevent infection. So that swelling is okay to be there. Also, it might be a little red, uh a little irritated. The inflammation is there because the vessels are open and we're bringing more blood to the area. The body is bringing more oxygen and nutrients by bringing more blood to the area. Now, what you can do is keep it elevated. So when you're walking, you can lay your hand right up on your chest, just so it's not swinging down by your side or throwing more excessive fluid in there, which will take up space and make it more uncomfortable. So keeping it elevated is good. And when you're sitting down watching TV or taking it easy, you can stack up some bed pillows on the armrest and have your hand above your heart. At night, it's okay, your whole body is horizontal. Just be comfortable and get some sleep.

Clean The Wound And Move Less

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Now, most of the time, there'll be some stereo strips over the surgical wound and it'll be covered. And you can wash normally with soap and water. At least that's what we have our patients do in our clinic. They wash normally with soap and water, pat it dry. They don't soak. So, you know, we have patients avoid a bath for a while, but you can wash with soap and water typically. And when uh when it's elevated, it's good to elevate the hand above the heart, maybe even above shoulder level, and just solely close and open your fist, you know, 10 or 10 or 15 times, three times a day. Where a lot of people go wrong is people will be told keep it moving. And your doctor doesn't necessarily mean to take that literally and literally keep it moving all day long. We have some patients who are having a lot of pain and they come in and get checked out, they're sitting there and they're going like this the whole time, and they're saying, Yeah, it's been hurting, my goodness, it just won't calm down. And they made it a habit and they're just closing and moving. If anybody without a painful hand, without any problems, just did that all day long, they would start to have problems. So nothing should become a habit, especially continuously moving. If you're doing that, should stop that immediately.

Nerve Flossing For Relief

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Also, the nerve that goes through the carpal tunnel, it comes out of the spinal cord at the neck, goes through the armpit. Those tend to get really tight before surgery and then stay tight after surgery. So, another thing that is really good for people to do is what's called nerve flossing, which we talked about in other videos. And you can take your arm out to the side, palm facing forward, and bring the fingers back and bend the wrist and fingers back until you feel a little bit of an achy pull right up your arm. I feel it right there. You hold that light, achy, very light achy stretch, no increased pain. One and two and three, and relax, and again, one and two and three, put it on slack, and again, one and two and three. Three seconds, three repetitions, three times a day, and that's it. Now, after surgery, if it's uh it's gonna be warm, it's a little inflamed, it's gonna be a little swollen, heat's only gonna increase that inflammation and make it

Cold Water And Simple Recap

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too inflamed. So, what's the best way to use cold? I don't like the idea of laying an ice pack on that surgery area because it's just not comfortable to have that weight on there. And I'll tell you what's a lot better than an ice pack anyway, is cold running water, only until deeply cold, right around the wrist, have it just encompass the whole thing, put it under those nice soft faucet and let the water encompass the whole wrist, and should take 10 to 20 seconds. So, right when it feels deeply cold, you're done. And studies have shown that that is more effective than an ice pack for 10 minutes. It's rare in life that something quicker and easier is more effective, and this is one of those times. So let's recap. We do not want to rub it, do not want to do active, continuous movement and keep it going. Hey, we have to water our plants, but we can't water the plants all day long. That's just way too much, and it's it causes terrible aggravation. But what we can do is three times a day, a dozen slow repetitions. Just get those tendons gliding through there, get everything loosened up, you get a thick, any thick fluid internally can come out. There are specific tendon gliding techniques, but after surgery, just close and open your fist 10 or 12 times. And then the nerve flossing, like we said, three seconds to three repetitions three times a day. Zap under the cold running water as often as you want. Some people, some people they uh will do it every hour or two, but general rule of thumb, no pun intended, is um lunchtime, dinner time, and before bed. And that will keep your inflammation down and make you a lot more comfortable. So thank you very much for watching, the hand to shoulder solution for paying me to smash. Thank you.