Bilateral Cubital tunnel and Carpal tunnel syndromes

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shy
Posts: 2
Joined: Tue Aug 21, 2012 9:38 pm

Bilateral Cubital tunnel and Carpal tunnel syndromes

Post by shy »

Hello. I'm a 36 year old mother and homemaker. I have been practicing yoga for about 15 years, and yin yoga for the past year. I have had cubital tunnel and carpal tunnel for a few years off and on. Have done all kinds of physical therapy, cortizone injections, lifestyle modifications, splints, yet it is getting worse. I used to be overweight after the birth of my child, and doctors told me if I lost weight I would improve. With yin yoga and being mindful of my eating I have lost 70 pounds, yet my arms feel worse. I'm having another emg next month and possible surgery after that. I was hoping someone here might be able to tell me what poses I should avoid or modify and which I should include in my yin yoga practice. I try not to put anyway weight on my wrists or inner elbows. I also hope I am doing the right thing when I modify my yang poses as well. For example, I do dolphin plank making sure I don't put pressure on the elbow area, and I also do downward dog on my forearms. Should I avoid those poses all together? I really love them and try to be careful but I am afraid I might be causing myself more problems no matter how careful I am. I do have pain and tenderness on the inside of my elbows as well and cramping/pain in my hands from these problems. Thank you for your time.
Bernie
Posts: 1293
Joined: Sat Sep 23, 2006 2:25 am
Location: Vancouver

Yoga and carpal tunnel and cubital tunnel syndromes

Post by Bernie »

Hi Shy

You have already done most of what I would have recommended: seek professional help, avoid stressing the elbow and wrist areas and try some anti-inflammatory agents. I am not a doctor and don't know you so I am not sure there is much I can add to help you, but let me venture a few suggestions that you can check out with your health care team.

First for anti-inflammatories: you could try some Ayurvedic remedies, such as making a "tea" with turmeric (~ 1/2 teaspoon per 1/2 cup of hot water). Try it twice a day for 5 days or so and see if you notice an improvement. You could also trying Earthing (check out this web site for why and how). I can personally vouch that both of these treatments have worked for me.

Secondly for modifications: for cubital tunnel syndrome, you would have been advised to not place any pressure on the inner elbows, so doing Down Dog on your forearms may not be great! However, because of your carpal tunnel problem, doing regular Down Dog would not be great either. Have you tried doing all these kinds of poses where you are putting pressure on your wrists and forearm while holding your hands in fists? The idea is to keep one straight line from your forearms to your big knuckles; no bends in the wrist at all. This means that you would be putting the weight onto your first two knuckles, not the last two. Try it in Cat first to get the feel for it: remember - no bends at all at the wrists in any direction. Have the palms facing in towards each other so that the knuckles are facing the sides of your mat, not the front of the mat.

Neutralizing the angle of the wrist should help with your carpal tunnel problem and not bending and stressing your elbow joint may help with your cubital tunnel problem.

I don't know of any Yin yoga poses that will specifically help these problems, but all yoga does help with overall health, which has to be good for you in general. You could review my articles on Yin Yoga for the Upper Body and see if any of these help. My best suggestion however is - find a good Yoga Therapy teacher and work with her in person.

Good luck!
Bernie
shy
Posts: 2
Joined: Tue Aug 21, 2012 9:38 pm

Post by shy »

Thanks so much! That is a good idea to do the downward dog with the outer part of my arms facing the ground. I admit I did have them palm down on the floor before and corrected that recently. Also, thanks for the link and the tea recipe. :)
Bernie
Posts: 1293
Joined: Sat Sep 23, 2006 2:25 am
Location: Vancouver

Turmeric Tea

Post by Bernie »

Good luck! You might find the tea more palatable if you use warm milk instead of just hot water.

Bernie
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