Stretching for Hand Health: Managing Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
Author: Justin Stehr, Occupational Hand Therapist
Your Hands Deserve the Best Care 🖐️
Our hands are essential for daily life, yet conditions like carpal tunnel syndrome can make even simple tasks challenging. By understanding your hand’s anatomy, incorporating targeted stretches, and using tools like therapy gloves, you can protect your hand health and improve functionality.
Why Balance Matters: Time Spent in Flexion
Throughout the day, we constantly grip objects—whether it’s holding a phone, typing on a keyboard, or carrying items. While gripping, we engage our flexor muscles to close our fingers, but when we release, we rarely forcefully extend or stretch them. Instead, we relax the fingers to let go.
This repetitive use of the flexor muscles creates an imbalance, where the flexors become tight and overused, while the extensor muscles are underutilized. Over time, this imbalance can contribute to stiffness, reduced mobility, and discomfort in the hands.
The Solution? Stretch While You Rest. Keeping your fingers extended and gently stretched at night can help counteract the effects of prolonged gripping. Stretching balances the flexor and extensor muscles, reduces tightness, and supports better overall hand health.
The Anatomy of the Carpal Tunnel and Hand Health
🔑 Carpal Tunnel: A narrow passage in the wrist bordered by carpal bones (scaphoid, lunate, triquetrum, pisiform, trapezium, trapezoid, capitate, and hamate) and the transverse carpal ligament. Swelling here can compress the median nerve.
🔑 Median Nerve: Runs through the carpal tunnel, controlling sensation and movement in the thumb, index, middle, and half of the ring finger.
🔑 Flexor Tendons: Tendons like the flexor digitorum superficialis and profundus bend your fingers and the flexor pollicis longus bends the thumb.
🔑 Palmar Aponeurosis: A thick connective tissue in the palm that can tighten without regular stretching.
Effective Stretches for Hand Health
Carpal Tunnel Stretch
- Place your palm flat against a wall with the wrist extended to 90 degrees, fingers straight and thumb extended.
- Use the other hand to gently pull back on the base of the thumb, focusing on a stretch near the wrist.
- Hold for 30 seconds, repeat 4x daily.
This stretch targets the transverse carpal ligament, which covers the carpal tunnel and protects the 8 finger flexor tendons, the thumb’s flexor tendon, and the median nerve.
Intrinsic Finger Stretch
- Begin in the hook fist position: Bend your fingers at the PIP and DIP joints, keeping the MCP joints straight.
- Use your opposite hand to gently push the MCP joints into hyperextension, maintaining flexion in the other joints.
- Hold for 5 seconds, repeat 5–10 times per hand.
The Digit Tendon Glide Sequence
This sequence enhances tendon mobility and reduces stiffness:
1️⃣ Straight Hand: Fingers fully extended (high-five position).
2️⃣ Hook Fist: Bend the fingers at the middle (PIP) and end (DIP) joints.
3️⃣ Full Fist: Curl all joints (MCP, PIP, DIP), pressing fingertips into the palm.
4️⃣ Straight Fist: Extend the DIP joints while keeping the MCP and PIP joints bent.
5️⃣ Tabletop (Flat Fist): Create an “L” shape by extending the MCP joints and bending the PIP/DIP joints.
Repeat 5–10 times per hand, 3x daily, holding each position for 5 seconds.
Why Gloves Make a Difference
Protect and support your hands with therapy gloves like the Metaflex Glove:
✅ Protect skin and reduce joint pressure.
✅ Improve circulation by keeping hands warm.
✅ Enhance grip with textured fingertips.
✅ Stretch while you sleep with elastic extension straps that gently stretch the flexor tendons, palmar aponeurosis, and tendon sheaths overnight.
For best results, pair the gloves with a wrist orthosis during sleep to maintain a neutral wrist position, reduce nerve compression, and prevent stiffness.
Take Charge of Your Hand Health
By combining anatomy-focused stretches, tendon gliding exercises, and tools like the Metaflex Glove, you can manage conditions like carpal tunnel syndrome and trigger finger. These strategies improve flexibility, reduce inflammation, and support overall hand functionality.
👉 Your hands work hard—give them the care they deserve.
#HandTherapy #CarpalTunnelSyndrome #TriggerFinger #Stretching #MetaflexGlove #HandHealth
References
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome: A Summary of Clinical Practice Guideline Recommendations—Using the Evidence to Guide Physical Therapist Practice. Journal of Orthopaedic & Sports Physical Therapy. 2019;49(5):359-360. doi:10.2519/jospt.2019.0501
Pompeu Y, Aristega Almeida B, Kunze K, Altman E, Fufa DT. Current Concepts in the Management of Advanced Trigger Finger: A Critical Analysis Review. JBJS Reviews. 2021;9(9). doi:10.2106/JBJS.RVW.21.00006
Shem K, Wong J, Dirlikov B. Effective self-stretching of carpal ligament for the treatment of carpal tunnel syndrome: A double-blinded randomized controlled study. Journal of Hand Therapy. 2020;33(3):272-280. doi:10.1016/j.jht.2019.12.002
Erickson M, Lawrence M, Jansen CWS, Coker D, Amadio P, Cleary C. Hand Pain and Sensory Deficits: Carpal Tunnel Syndrome: Clinical Practice Guidelines Linked to the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health From the Academy of Hand and Upper Extremity Physical Therapy and the Academy of Orthopaedic Physical Therapy of the American Physical Therapy Association. Journal of Orthopaedic & Sports Physical Therapy. 2019;49(5):CPG1-CPG85. doi:10.2519/jospt.2019.0301