Patients frequently ask, "Do carpal tunnel compression gloves really work?" They’re sold everywhere, so you'd think they must work, right? 

In fact you'd be completely wrong. There is zero scientific evidence for any glove manufacturer to make such a claim. Actually, using compression gloves to treat carpal tunnel syndrome can do more harm than good. Here's why.

The design of compression gloves is simple. They tighten down and compress (or squeeze) the skin and underlying tissues wherever the glove material contacts the skin. Basically, manufacturers design them to apply compression to the hand without being too uncomfortable. 

Compression gloves are similar in function to other compression products. They include, for example, compression socks, compression stockings, knee compression wraps, compression shorts, and compression pants. 

Basically, all of these products squeeze the tissues they surround. And in most cases, they have a beneficial effect for that body part. But unfortunately, they don’t provide any relief whatsoever from symptoms of carpal tunnel for one main reason: any compression is bad for carpal tunnel syndrome.

The main reason compression gloves work for many other conditions is they reduce surface swelling. They do this by forcing fluid away from the skin’s surface into deeper layers.

That’s why they work so well for conditions where reduced surface swelling relieves pain. This is especially the case with rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Many RA sufferers find great relief when using compression gloves. In fact, doctors encourage RA sufferers to use compression gloves that are also thermo-insulated (called thermals). The compression and warmth have a combined effect on the arthritic tissues. As a result, the compression gloves help relieve joint stiffness and pain associated with RA.

Everyone has seen the expensive television commercials, heartfelt testimonials, and general hype associated with compression gloves. The glove makers advertise their gloves are wonderful therapy for problems like arthritis, gout, de Quervain's syndrome, lupus, tendonitis, and carpal tunnel syndrome.

But that's a lie because they absolutely will not treat carpal tunnel syndrome.

As of this publication, there are no medical studies to verify this claim for treating carpal tunnel syndrome. In fact, the manufacturers don't have a shred of evidence that compression gloves for carpal tunnel actually work.  

What's more serious is that using "carpal tunnel compression gloves" to treat this condition can actually make the pain and numbness much worse. (More about this crucial problem below.)

Like many passive products (products that don't actually do anything), compression gloves seem to have a very strong placebo effect on patients. The placebo effect is when you believe the pain will get better, and then it does. It's really "mind over matter". 

If somebody persuades you to believe the compression gloves will help relieve pain, then they probably will. The placebo effect is one of the most powerful phenomena in medical science. 

But most placebo effects usually wear off after a short while. The reason is because the mind realizes the pain is still there, no matter how great the desire for it go away.   

Many manufacturers use the placebo effect to their advantage. They know that compression gloves help some patients with their hand pain. And they actively promote compression gloves to just about everybody, with enticing names like “therapeutic compression gloves”. 

In reality, relieving carpal tunnel pain, numbness, tingling, burning, soreness, shooting electric shocks, and weakness in the fingers and hand requires more than wishful thinking. Just ask anybody with crushing hand pain or numbness due to carpal tunnel syndrome. 

That’s why you should not expect carpal tunnel relief with compression gloves. They’re false claims. Actually, in the United States it's illegal to make such false claims about a medical product. 

So why aren't they stopped? Simply put, there's just too many of them. And most are in Asia where they're immune from such regulations.

The glove makers who make the most audacious and fake claims about treating carpal tunnel are:

Remember hitting your funny bone? It’s not actually a bone but your ulnar nerve. Near the elbow, this nerve runs very close to the skin surface. It’s so close to the skin surface that if you know where to touch it, you can easily feel it roll under your fingertip like a rope.

So when you hit or bump (or lean on) the elbow area where the ulnar nerve is, it temporarily compresses the nerve. That’s what gives you the tingling sensation in your hand.

Carpal tunnel syndrome happens for similar reasons. But it's not a problem of the ulnar nerve running close to the elbow's surface. In carpal tunnel syndrome, it's the median nerve running through you wrist joint that causes the problem.

The reason we get carpal tunnel syndrome symptoms like pain, numbness, tingling, shooting electric shocks, and weakness is similar to the funny bone scenario. The median nerve (located deep inside the wrist joint) is compressed by the swollen tissues around it. Basically, the surrounding tissues "lean on" the median nerve and compress it.

Nobody knows for sure why the surrounding tissues inside the wrist joint swell to begin with. Perhaps over-use or repetitive hand activity brings it on. Other known harmful activities can also be the culprit. But the end result is that swelling pushes on the median nerve and compresses it. 

The nerve is actually under pressure the way water builds up behind a dam. Obviously, any more compression will make matters even worse. It’s like adding more water pressure behind the dam. 

Therefore, using carpal tunnel compression gloves is like adding more pressure to an already over-pressurized wrist joint. 

There’s an additional problem with compression gloves. The highly compressed median nerve needs to drain the fluid around it in order to lower the pressure. But the only way your body does that naturally is for the wrist joint to move freely. 

Free joint movement, back and forth, pumps fluid out of the median nerve’s vicinity. Under normal conditions, this movement gradually lowers the fluid level that's compressing the nerve. 

But squeezing the tissues around the median nerve even more (with a compression glove) is very bad. It impedes drainage -- which is like adding more water behind the dam. So instead of un-damming the area, the compression glove squeezes shut the dam’s exit doors even tighter. 

Therefore, a compression glove adds pressure to the median nerve. And it also inhibits any fluid from draining out of the wrist area. Combined, these both increase pressure on the median nerve and make carpal tunnel symptoms worse.

This compression problem is why most ordinary wrist braces don’t work for carpal tunnel. Almost all of the relatively inexpensive wrist braces sold in CVS, Walgreens, Walmart, etc. were never designed to treat carpal tunnel syndrome. And they even worsen the problem when you wear them.

The average, ordinary wrist brace has a metal spine on the palm side of the brace. This is called a palmar spine. It gives the brace stiffness so you don’t unconsciously bend your hand at night while asleep. But while you sleep, your body naturally tries to curl your hand or else bend it backward. 

Bending your wrist backward while wearing an ordinary night brace is especially bad. That's because the metal spine will push against your wrist. The spine’s pushing force will transmit right into the wrist joint and compress the median nerve. This, too, is like closing the dam doors instead of opening them.

So even though many such ordinary braces say “great for carpal tunnel” that also is not true. Wearing them actually will worsen the problem. 

Many people who wear a brace advertised for carpal tunnel (i.e., a "carpal tunnel brace") say they wake up with worse  symptoms. In the morning they'll sit at the edge of their bed with more pain or numbness and wonder why their brace didn't help. 

Little do these people know that it's because the brace's palmar spine was pushing and compressing the median nerve all night long. So of course symptoms would be worse in the morning!

It sounds impressive: copper in the glove helps relieve symptoms! But that's merely hype, plain and simple. There’s just no credible evidence that copper works at all for any condition. 

This scam is why Copper Fit products merit a whole discussion of their own here.

Copper Fit products are the most famous advocates of copper infused gloves. Slick TV commercials and splashy ads with movie personalities give the impression of an effective and worthwhile medical product. 

In fact, they state that their copper infused fabric will “enhance performance, speed recovery, and you find relief”. This is a blatant lie. They’re just scamming the public. 

These claims about copper (no matter the condition) are completely unsubstantiated by medical science. In fact, just ask any doctor or scientist about the effectiveness of copper-infused gloves and they'll respond with, “That’s utterly ridiculous!” 

In 2015 a similar company, Tommy Copper was hit with a $1.35 million settlement for fraudulent and deceptive advertising. It’s only a matter of time before the Federal Trade Commission cracks down on Copper Fit too.  

The Food and Drug Administration will also no doubt have a lot to say. That’s because the therapeutic claims about copper infused gloves infer it’s an approved medical device. But it’s not, and never will be. 

So in the meantime, don’t fall for the fake hype about anything involving copper. 

There are no credible scientific reports about wearing ordinary gloves to relieve carpal tunnel syndrome. But every doctor has anecdotal reports from their patients. 

It seems that ordinary, loose fitting, thermal gloves help with carpal tunnel syndrome. That's simply because they keep the hand warm. Warmth promotes healing.

Therefore, keeping your hand warm is a good reason to wear thermal gloves for carpal tunnel. It's also backed up by medical science that supports using thermal gloves to improve the lives of rheumatoid arthritis patients. 

Arthritis sufferers (particularly those with RA) routinely wear thermal gloves to keep their hands warm. The warmth of the glove provides relief from the pain and swelling of RA. While the idea of compression gloves for RA is relatively new, "RA therapy gloves" have been around a long time. Even the Mayo Clinic recommends wearing them to reduce hand pain from RA.

In conclusion, "RA therapy gloves" provide warmth and can stimulate better blood circulation. Both factors help reduce pain, stiffness, and swelling in the hand and fingers. Therefore, it makes sense that ordinary gloves can help carpal tunnel patients better cope with hand pain.

Unfortunately, there’s no cheap or fast way out of carpal tunnel’s grip. It took years for this condition to blossom inside your wrist joint. There's no such thing as an overnight "fix". And surgery isn’t the answer because it’s not a permanent solution.

Instead, you need real medical therapy that's faithfully applied every day. And you need the persistence to see that therapy through until symptoms resolve for good. 

There are 3 medical therapies for carpal tunnel syndrome that are, recognized by the NIH, American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons, and American Chiropractic Association:

• Regular and routine hand and finger stretching exercises.
  
  
• Night bracing with a certified carpal tunnel brace (that doesn’t compress your median nerve).
  
  
• Myofascial release massage of the wrist and forearm.

These are not only effective and lasting remedies for carpal tunnel. They're also non-pharmaceutical and non-surgical. So they’re safe to use during pregnancy. 

These remedies work very well for nearly every carpal tunnel patient. In fact, the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons (who regulate hand surgery) recommend using such nonsurgical remedies before  considering surgery.

Using compression gloves to treat carpal tunnel syndrome simply won't help. In fact, they will most likely make your symptoms worse. And if you have moderate or severe symptoms, you need aggressive therapy right now, so symptoms don't worsen.