Carpal tunnel syndrome is like a traffic jam in the wrist, resulting from too much crowding in too little space. Nestled among the bones and tendons of the wrist area is a major median nerve that leads from the arm into the fingers. This is the nerve that "signals" some of the small muscles in the hand and also provides sensation to the thumb and first three fingers.

Use fat tool handles. If your tool handles are not fat then use some rubber grip to fatten it. Keep knives and other cutting tools sharp so that less pressure is exerted on the median nerve. Do not hold a pen with a tight grip while writing. Always wear a wrist splint, especially at night. Apply an ice pack on your aching wrist, it will lessen the pain. If ice is unavailable, go for a hot treatment. Apply a heating pad on the aching wrist.

Obese people should shed some weight. Take a break at regular intervals and do some stretching exercises of hands and fingers. Do not sit or stand in the same position for a long time.

Simply put a piece of red meat on the area for a maximum of 24 hours. My wife, who had been told she needed surgery, did this and never (for 15 years)has had CTS again. Once she dropped a heavy wrench on her foot. In a couple hours, it was very swollen and black and blue. 6 hours of 'meat therapy' left only a very slight bump and the black and blue had completely disappeared. We don't know how it works, but it does.

Slip on gloves. Cold hands mean constricted blood vessels. And constricted blood vessels mean less blood-and nourishment-to overworked hand and wrist tissues. Wearing gloves can help keep your hands warm and increase blood flow. What if you're keyboarding? Just cut off the fingertips of each glove, and you can type with ease.

Laser acupuncture, which uses a handheld laser instead of acupuncture needles, is also used for carpal tunnel syndrome. One study looked at 36 people with a median pain duration of 24 months. Fourteen had one to 2 surgical release procedures with no results. After three laser acupuncture sessions a week for 4 to 5 weeks, 33 people had no pain or their pain was reduced by more than 50%. All of the people who had failed surgery had a noticeable improvement. Acupuncture wasn't a quick-fix-the follow-up after 1-2 years found that pain returned for only 2 people out of 23 people, and they were successfully treated within several weeks.

Put a splint on your wrist. You can make a splint by putting two small, rectangular boards on either side of your wrist (one on top, one on bottom). Bind the boards with sturdy gauze or tape. Make sure your wrist isn't able to bend at all in the splint, otherwise the splint won't be effective. However, don't make it so tight that you cut off the circulation in your wrist.

Splinting works best for people who are under age 50 and who have had CTS for less than 10 months, with only intermittent symptoms. A splint can be worn at night, during the day, or all the time-whenever your pain is worst. You can buy splints in medical supply stores and many drugstores. But check with your doctor to make sure your splint fits properly.