After you’ve been clicking the mouse a long time or typing on a keyboard or mobile phone at certain angles, you may experience soreness or numbness in a line that radiates from where your thumb and index finger branch off, through your wrist, and down your forearm. This thumb numbness and wrist and forearm soreness can be associated with a condition that goes by various names, including mother’s wrist, washerwoman’s sprain, Blackberry thumb, de Quervian syndrome, and radial styloid tenosynovitis.

Only a medical professional can diagnose if you have a technical syndrome. But when the problem is simply that part of your arm has become fatigued or inflamed through overuse of certain muscles and tensions, you may find it helpful to take a break from the aggravating activity and stretch out the sore spot. Here is a simple stretch I’ve found helps me if I get sore in this area from too much mouse-clicking or typing:

  • Sit on a chair or bed with the arm hanging at the side, the elbow straight, and the palm facing the body.
  • Extend and turn the wrist so that the fingers face behind the body with the thumb pointing away from the side of the body. (See illustration.) Only stretch to the point where you begin to feel some sense of pull, but remain within a comfortable limit and do not continue to the point of soreness or pain, nor attempt to stretch as far as you can.
  • Remain in this position keeping your shoulder and breathing relaxed as you allow your arm to dangle, stretched by the force of gravity. When you exhale feel as if you’re releasing your weight or leaning on something.
  • After 20-30 seconds or so, you may find yourself loosening up a bit. You may wish to try increasing the stretch at this point. Do not stretch to the point of soreness or pain, however. Let yourself grow into the stretch.

    • thumb numbness stretch

    You can also brace your hand in a similar position against a wall or door by placing your arm in front of you angled slightly down.

    If your wrists are equally flexible, you can brace your hands against each other this way as if in a prayer position with the fingers pointing downwards.

    Filed under: Carpal Tunnel Exercises Quick Tips

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