Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is more than just painful – it can be debilitating. When repetitive motions, hand use, heredity and other factors lead to swelling of the tissues in the wrist, they put pressure on the median nerve, which travels from the forearm into the hand. This pressure on the median nerve causes numbness, pain and even weakness in the hand. Left untreated, carpal tunnel syndrome can lead to a loss of thumb mobility and can make even simple actions like turning a doorknob or buttoning clothing extremely difficult.

Treatment for carpal tunnel syndrome can include over-the-counter and prescription medicines, braces or splints, cortisone injections, modification or elimination of activities that aggravate it, and, in severe cases, surgery. Of course, preventing carpal tunnel syndrome from happening at all is much more preferable than dealing with it once you have it.

Following are some simple exercises you can do regularly to help avoid carpal tunnel syndrome altogether, or to help relieve symptoms if you have a mild case. (It is recommended that you consult a doctor if your symptoms are severe.) Spend five minutes doing these stretches before beginning your work day, and repeat them every hour or so to keep the swelling and inflammation of carpel tunnel syndrome at bay.

1. Stretch your arms out in front of you and flex your wrists upward at a 90-degree angle so that your palms and fingers face out in front of you. Hold for five seconds.
2. Still with arms out in front of you, straighten wrists so that they are in line with your arms and let your fingers dangle briefly.
3. Holding arm and wrist position from step 3, clench hands into tight fists, then bend wrists downward at a 90-degree angle, keeping fists clenched. Hold for five seconds.
4. Return to position in step 2 and hold for five seconds.
5. Repeat all steps nine times, for a total of 10 reps. Finish by shaking arms loosely at your sides, shoulders relaxed, for a few seconds.

If you have carpal tunnel syndrome that has been caused or aggravated by the demands of your job, you are eligible to collect workers' compensation benefits. Attorneys specializing in workers' compensation, like those at the office of J. Franklin Burns, P.C., are skilled in proving how jobs requiring repetitive motions – such as those involving clerical, manufacturing, shipping or cash register work – cause and exacerbate carpal tunnel syndrome.

Carpal tunnel syndrome poses a real risk to your long-term health and mobility, and should not be taken lightly. Do not suffer in silence at a job that is making you sick. Contact a workers' compensation lawyer immediately to protect your health and your financial well being.