Medical question: possible carpal tunnel?

Factual Questions
1

My wrist has been hurting lately. It feels like I just ran really far yesterday and woke up with sore legs that don’t want to bend. The wrist is sore, and has a mildly limited range of motion compared to the other. It’s been this way for a few weeks.

I understand the general disclaimers about ‘professional’ advice, but my question is twofold:

  1. should I be concerned?

  2. should I force the wrist to the point of discomfort to “stretch it out” like I would those sore muscles afer running, or should I rest it and not push that threshold?

Thanks for your advice.

2

IANAD, but that sounds more like an injury than CTS. Injuries are acute (but can last a while), where CTS is creeping and chronic. I think you are saying you have a somewhat sudden onset. If you have injured a tendon or ligament, they do take a very long time to heal because they do not have as much blood flow as a muscle. Since you have suffered a few weeks, the best treatment would probably involve heat packs and gentle stretching. And of course a Dr visit (C my A)

3

I’ve had success with wrist injuries in the past and I am going through this right now with my wrist. To properly stretch it, simply use the other hand to bend the wrist right up to the point of pain. Then back off just a hair, and HOLD pain-free for 30 sec. Then go the other direction and do the same thing. Since the wrist has so many different planes of motion, you can do this in different planes to really get a good stretch. Repeat 3 times, every time you think about it through the course of the day. In a matter of a few days or weeks, you should notice marked increase in flexibility, without pain. Continue this therapy as long as you can, because ligaments take approx. 9 mos. to heal fully.

Never hold a stretch in a painful position. Back away from the pain position and hold there for 30 sec. It should feel really good, like that first big stretch in the morning. After 30 sec., you may try pushing it a tiny bit farther to see if this can be done without pain. If so, hold it in the new position for another 30 sec. Then go to the opposite direction. Progressively, the tendons and ligaments will elongate and increase joint range of motion.