Wrist Pain (Carpel Tunnel Syndrome) Wrist and hand pain is common in pregnancy and may be due to a condition called Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. The carpal tunnel is a small space in the wrist (blue on the pic) where various nerves and blood vessels travel. During pregnancy, due to both mechanical and hormonal factors, this 'tunnel' gets smaller, squeezing the nerves/vessels and giving unpleasant symptoms into the hand eg. pain, numbness, tingling etc. These may extend up the arm to the shoulder. An Osteopath would perform gentle massage and stretching of the wrist, arm & shoulder to increase the size of the 'tunnel' and improve drainage from the hand. The Osteopath may also gently manipulate your wrist bones (yellow on the pic) to take pressure off the nerve.