Injury Prevention Exercises - Fitness Tips For Carpenters

There are several job types which affect the Carpal Tunnel and Rotator Cuff but Carpentry seems to take the cake. The use of a hammering repetitively may strengthen and even add muscle to the area but overuse will eventually cause breakdown. The Carpal Tunnel sits right around the wrist joint and is a small little opening housing many many cables. When these cables swell through increased circulation they expand and also cause some space limitations and friction. The area then swells more. Eventually over time it becomes an elbow issue and shoulder issue. As it climbs upward you go through numbness, pins and needles. This is a good indicator that the circulation is being cut off from the swelling.

It would be advantageous to switch hands but realistically you are on a job and time crunch so it probably is not going to happen.

The best solution is to plan right. Mix the movement with other movements to give it a break. Keep ice on hand to bring down the swelling immediately in spurts. You can do this privately if needed. Wearing a wrist wrap with magnets is another preventative which helps.

Hot Cold therapy will also decrease the issue if done as part of your regimen. Tolerance to this can vary and it is a painful treatment but works amazingly. Try 60 second in ice water, then in warm and repeat. Do this for 5 -10 mins each evening. It should force out lactic acid and help recover you for the next day of work. Unfortunately many carpenters work very long hours for most if not all the week.

I also suggest the use of joint supplements. They can be so helpful. Not every supplement will work for every person but do test them out to see which works best for you. Try out some glucosamine or joint combos which usually have glucosamine in them. MSM, curcumin, chondriontin and minerals seem to be the most useful. Arnica can be very helpful both orally and topically and is very popular with acrobats, dancers and cirque performers.

Keeping a squeeze ball on hand is a good tool for mildly exercising the area in a rehabilitative way. The ball is usually a bit bigger than a golf ball and very mushy soft. The main drill is to hold it in the palm while pushing the thumb into it and forward. Of course you would not want to overdo this either so keep this to a 5 minute max per session with only 2-3 sessions at most per day.

Keep the area well stretched, the extensors and flexors in the forearm should be gently stretched daily to keep the muscle healthy and help avoid a chronic issue. If you are already chronic I still suggest the above in order to alleviate and maintain as best possible.

By Linda Cusmano