Wearing a wrist brace while you sleep is one of the best ways of treating carpal tunnel syndrome. Here's why.

The reason we get carpal tunnel syndrome is because of fluid pressure that's built-up inside the wrist joint. That pressure pushes on the median nerve, thereby damaging it. 

The pressure can be increased even more if you bend your hand forward or backward. And that makes carpal tunnel symptoms much worse.

Unfortunately, when we sleep we unconsciously hyper-bend our wrists. This is very harmful if you have carpal tunnel syndrome. And it's one of the reasons symptoms wake you up at night. It's also why symptoms are frequently worse in the morning.

But wearing a wrist brace while sleeping prevents you from hyper-bending your wrist. In fact, it keeps your hand in a  "neutral" position. (Basically, that means "straight".) Therefore, as you sleep with a brace it helps keep the internal wrist pressure low.

Additionally, night time rest helps tendons heal. This is especially important when you're treating carpal tunnel with the three other B.R.E.M. techniques.

If you have carpal tunnel syndrome, you should never wear a wrist brace during the daytime (as you work). The reason? Your wrist joint is already damaged by carpal tunnel syndrome. Wearing a brace while your hand works makes it perform "double work".

That means it has to perform it's regular activity, but at the same time it must fight against the brace's restriction. This double work translates into double-stress and double-damage to the wrist joint.

The only exception to this rule is if you know in advance that you'll be lifting something heavy. (Although you shouldn't do so if you have carpal tunnel syndrome!) The brace can help support your wrist, preventing it from hyper-bending during the lifting.

Wearing an ordinary "pharmacy brace" (like those from CVS, Walgreens, etc.) at night for treating carpal tunnel is harmful. It will worsen your carpal tunnel syndrome. That's because those braces typically contain a "palmar spine". That's a metal spine on the palm surface of the brace.

Here's the problem if you sleep with a brace containing a palmar spine. Any unconscious backward bending of your wrist will push the spine into your joint. This will further increase pressure inside the wrist, making your carpal tunnel syndrome much worse. 

Below is a current list of the most common certified carpal tunnel braces. They are not available in pharmacies (only available online.)

Lubricating all of the the finger tendons simultaneously more effectively enhances their gliding abilities. In fact, if you had to do only one carpal tunnel treatment, this exercise would be it. Some therapists call it the "push-out" stretch.

Start by interlocking your fingers. Then rotate your wrists so that both palms are facing outward and in front of you. Straighten your elbows. Hold this position for 10 seconds. Then drop your hands and shake them out.

The next exercise for treating carpal tunnel targets the flexor tendons inside the wrist area. This is where swelling and inflammation cause pressure on the median nerve - which in turn causes carpal tunnel syndrome. This stretch, sometimes called the "stop" stretch, removes adhesions and restrictions from tendons at the wrist joint.

Hold one hand out in front of you as if you're demanding to "stop!" With the other hand, use all fingers to pull back on the upward turned "stop" hand. Pull backward as hard as you can tolerate. Hold it for 10 seconds. Then drop your hands and shake them out.

This exercise is widely known as the "prayer" stretch. The advantage of this exercise is that it stretches flexor tendons from the palm all the way to the forearm muscles. Therapists consider it a good, all around way for treating carpal tunnel syndrome because it dislodges adhesions along the tendons' length.

Begin by pressing your palms together, fingers up, as in a prayer. Keep your hands close to your chest. Then slowly raise your elbows while maintaining your hands at the same level. Lift your elbows as high as you can. Then hold it for 10 seconds. Then drop your hands and shake them out.

The thumb stretch is important because this finger is where most people have the worst carpal tunnel symptoms. So it's important to keep the thumb tendons lubricated and limber.

Grab your opposite thumb and gently pull it backward. Don't over-do it. Pull back and hold for 10 seconds. Then slowly rotate it like a helicopter blade a few times. Then switch direction for a few more rotations. Then drop your hands and shake them out.

The final - and most effective - carpal tunnel treatment is massage. But not just any old massage is good for treating carpal tunnel syndrome. In fact, some types of massage (like vibration massage) can be harmful) if you have carpal tunnel. 

Instead, you must use a specific technique called myofascial release massage. When properly performed, it has a 97% effectiveness rate against carpal tunnel syndrome.

Ordinary massage moves the skin and underling tissues in a rhythmic fashion. This increases blood flow, facilitates lymphatic drainage and generally feels good. 

Myofascial release does the same thing. But it has another result that's crucial to treating carpal tunnel syndrome: it breaks up adhesions.

At it's core, carpal tunnel syndrome is due to swollen tendons. Tendons swell because they acquire fibrous adhesions on their surface. This impedes smooth gliding and restricts their motion. So the key to reducing tendon swelling is to destroy the adhesions.

Myofascial release massage destroys these adhesions using counter-rotating fingers. The counter-rotating thumbs and forefingers of the therapist create a "kneading" motion. 

When applied to the area just below the wrist crease, it affects the flexor tendons directly below.  The kneading motion helps dislodge adhesions and un-restricts the tendon. See this link for specific directions about how to perform myofascial release massage yourself.

This specific carpal tunnel treatment must be applied:

• At least daily (twice daily is best), and 
• For at least 30 days

It takes 30 days of daily treatment for adhesions to disappear in mild cases of carpal tunnel syndrome. For more severe cases, 30-60 days of the same daily treatment may be required.

Most therapists opt for for treating carpal tunnel using this massage along with night bracing. That's because myofascial release massage plus nocturnal bracing is more effective than surgery. The only downside is that visiting a therapist once or twice daily for 30 days is expensive. Note that the CarpalRx device performs this identical massage automatically and in your own home.