How do you manage/prevent your carpel tunnel?

[Mezzaluna]

long story short I stopped drawing for about a year and only recently started drawing again (enough that I started getting soreness in my wrist after a session).

Yeah I have a wrist brace and started doing the wrist and arm exercises again and reminding myself to take breaks. I'm not sure if it's because I'm getting old now I want to make some soft grips for my pens and make it easier on my hand? What are you guys doing for wrist care/prevention?

[larvapuppy]

I do a lot of drawing, handwriting, and typing on the computer, but I've never had any major issues with carpal tunnel syndrome. I wouldn't say I do these religiously, but I do hand stretches (especially when I feel like my wrists/hands are stiff) and maybe it helps. I also would say that most of my joints just naturally extend farther than the average person's, so I might just have a biological advantage, either from the fact that my joints have more flexibility by default or from the fact that I can more easily stretch my tendons farther.

The stretches I do are as follows (I can't remember where I learned these). I hold each one for a few seconds, until it feels goooood.
I hold onto my fingers and pull my hand back until my palm and forearm make a 90 degree or less angle, then I do it in the other direction, pushing the back of my hand toward the underside of my forearm.
I pull my thumbs down until they touch my forearm.
I pull each of my fingers back individually so that they make a 90 degree angle with the back of my hand. Then I do the same to all four non-thumb fingers at once.
I also find that just trying to stretch my fingers out as far as they can (like fingers stretched apart, moving them on their own, not with your other hand) and then balling up my fists gets the blood flowing (?) / makes my hands feel good. I do this multiple times in a row.

(edit: Don't try to make a 90 degree angle if it hurts!!!  Just stretch as much as feels comfortable.)

Uh... my point is, maybe look up some stretches? I don't know if these are recommended anymore, I think I learned them a long time ago. 

[kringle]

seconding that a regular stretching routine really helps! i don't have carpel tunnel but i know i can be a bit susceptible to shoulder pain after intense multi-day drawing sessions, so taking breaks and stretching to help the body before during and after helps a lot. my personal stretching routine is reaching for the sun and slowly lowering my arms till im t-posing, then bringing my arms forward parallel to the ground. i do that a few times, then rotating my wrists, then flexing my fingers one by one then all together.

i know there are like Actual Stretching Routines u can look up but i dont know them haha  though the one i use is based off the one araki drew in the rohan kishibe series


(read right to left)


  it's deff important to remember that artistic practice can have a sisterhood with athletic practice, in that maintaining the body as an instrument OF your practice is an integral part! its cool that we're having this discussion because i feel like this is a part of long-term craftsmanship that people often forget.

side tangent: but i know of some industry artists like going full out the wazoo to the point they need to take time to ice their wrists. like on 1 hand its kind of to my analogy because they're at the top of their game so they're giving it their all just like a star athlete would. on the other hand gosh i hope thats never me LMAO.

[Gakipper]

Stretch stretch stretch ! Certainly not in a painful way of course, hurting yourself as a mean of "prevention" is useless. But generally speaking, any/most issues regarding mobility are best prevented OR most efficiently improved by maintaining mobility + muscle mass of the area.

Quick stretches regularly through the day are good (probably the best prevention method I use). That goes for the whole body, but it's especially good for wrists with activities such as computer or drawing! Here are some stretch exercices I do :

- closing my fists (not gripping or holding in) and rotating my wrist in a circle motion, one way then the other. You'll feel a lot of clicks and ticks and that's normal but it shouldn't hurt !
- interlacing my fingers and stretching out my arm/pushing on my hands, palms facing front
- softly pushing one of my hand up/down at a ~rough and messy and it's just the aim for direction~ 90° angle with my arm. When the palm is facing you/fingers pointing down, you could feel some stretchy sensation at the root of your forearm. When the palm is facing front and finger pointing up, you could feel stretchy in the wrist/root of the palm. No need to push further if it hurts, you're looking for stretch not pain! I do this a few seconds with one hand then switch to the other.
- just flapping my hands/fingers around for at least 15sec to get the blood flowing and relax the muscles ! I do very desorganized movements, rather fast but not pushing. Shouldn't hurt at all because all the muscles are relaxed !
- some finger tapping : tip of my thumb tapping on the tip of each of my other fingers one by one.

And then I also try to maintain muscles in those area because that's what holds everything together. Stretches generally should be enough but when I still feel weird I try to improve grip strength. You can get a tennis ball or anything the like, hold it and grip it as strong as you can for a few seconds, then release. Repeat it a few times. I do that with no tennis ball at all just gripping my fist more often, that does the job. You can repeat and do the exact same exercice this time pinching fingers rather than gripping fist.

As larvapuppy said, you can look up some stretches and you'll get pictures as well to give you some idea !

I personally think that increasing mobility health of your wrists should already help a lot. Plus you're only just re-starting drawing after a long break so it's normal that you're a bit "rusty", it'll get better if you continue and do some stretch on the side! But if it's not enough, you coudl always look up to ergonomic supplies (computer mouses, pen holder, etc). However I think it's better to start off with the free stuff that should already get your body rolling, and see if there's anything else needed later.

[fablefound]

howdy! chronic pain haver here. specifically some genre of hypermobility, in my hands among other places. i work at my computer all day as a writer and composer and comms specialist, and also have several hand-intensive hobbies like playing instruments and sewing. here is a big ol' list of things i've done to try and reduce inflammation, because my connective tissue issues (haha) make me particularly prone to it. dunno if all of it is applicable to carpal tunnel specifically, but it should reduce strain in general.

* first of all, seconding what's been said about stretching! very important!!! but also don't bend too much!!! there's a video of me demonstrating my stretches in front of a bunch of people, and one of them nervously saying something along the lines of, "that's NOT supposed to bend that far" ahahaha
* the right environmental accommodations can make a world of difference. braces help a lot, but so do ergonomic wrist cushions, a nice slant desk setup, and sitting in a comfortable position.
* i also wanna specifically shoutout compression gear. i use compression gloves when i'm at my desk, alongside my brace. i've heard great things about artist gloves for folks who draw in particular.
(i get all my compression gear from bibipins, cool canadian woc-owned business! they do compression gloves, artist gloves, braces, and more!)
* all that said, sometimes you just need to give your hands a break. having at least one hobby that isn't super hand-intensive is good for this. mine are ddr, going on walks, and reading.

also, if all else fails, physiotherapy can help. i've been going for my entire adult life, and i've found stuff like ultrasound therapy, dry needling, and tens treatment to be very beneficial.

[Mezzaluna]

it's deff important to remember that artistic practice can have a sisterhood with athletic practice, in that maintaining the body as an instrument OF your practice is an integral part! its cool that we're having this discussion because i feel like this is a part of long-term craftsmanship that people often forget.

Thankfully I don't have carpel tunnel I'm just paranoid about straining my wrists by accident .

I've heard horror stories about people who have gotten it so I'm always curious what other's routines are for it. I remember this video being pretty popular on Tumblr back in the so I've been doing those.

And yes definitely people should see their body as their most important tool and maintain it!! Not just excerise but also sleep and diet. I know it can be alot but now that I'm getting older I'm always worried about not being able to do as much creatively if my body gets worse.