Carpal Tunnel Syndrome: Who's Got It?

[-God-]

That's not carpal tunnel, you're fucking up your ulnar nerve: Ulnar nerve entrapment - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This. It's Cubital, not Carpal, Tunnel Syndrome.

It's what I had. It starts with pins and needles in the little and middle fingers, then grip goes, then fingers begin to claw and the muscles waste. My hand got really weak and bracing my arm and sleeping with it straight failed to cure it, so I had to have an operation. It took 2-3 years for my hand to fully recover. I say fully, it'll never be right, but I can use it without issue now.

Get a beach towel, and wrap it around the elbow when you go to sleep to stop bending it in your sleep. If that doesn't work after a couple of weeks then see a doctor. And don't bend your elbow and rest on it.

 

[jhoffy22]

Before you were worried about getting killed in your sleep, how did you sleep normally? I had to see a neurologist because I would always sleep with my bicep against my ear on my stomach (does that make sense?) so my left arm would be pointed up opposite directions of my feet.

This caused be to move a nerve on the wrong side of my bone over time and as a result my left arm and specifically left pinky finger and ring finger are always numb when I am on the computer.

 

[barman]

hit the gym and work out the muscles in your wrists (wrist curls) this isn't a cure or anything but certainly helps when your muscles aren't all weak and feeble

 

[erifdekciw]

hit the gym and work out the muscles in your wrists (wrist curls) this isn't a cure or anything but certainly helps when your muscles aren't all weak and feeble

Pfft... We all work out our wrists..

 

[maintain]

Exhaust all other options you can think of before going in for surgery. The long-term success rate for surgery is only around 50%. Some estimates are a bit higher or lower but the fact is for about half of the people who go through with the surgery, it doesn't do anything and leaves them worse off then before.

Same goes for the ulnar nerve issues. True ulnar nerve entrapment is rare. Most of the time I suspect the mental relief that comes from having the "problem fixed" along with forced lack of use during recovery time gives any overuse injury enough time to heal. Babying the surgery site too for a few months is long enough to permanently change posture habits, which may bring about pain relief as well.

There are a lot of good options ITT. New desk, new keyboard, new mouse are all good choices. It doesn't matter what brand because you will have to change your posture. If possible you might even want to set up a few computers and alternate the days you use each one.

I remember you said something about playing music in another thread, guitar can be a major contributor too.

I know it sounds like a pain in the ass, but consider dragon speaking software as well. Use your mouse on your "good hand" and. Consider a couple weeks of vacation if you can afford it.

Get checked out by a (good) doctor if symptoms persist/worsen. You could easily have a neck problem putting pressure on the nerve roots or a multitude of other but less common issues.

 

[greenleaves]

My solution:

1- Wrist support. Look up carpal wrist support on amazon. Get a few for the day, and one for the night. Try the day ones out and find your favorite. Don't overuse it though, wait till the nerve swelling goes down (stop feeling pain), then take it off. Put it on when in pain.
carpal

2- Cut out hours if need be. If you keep pushing it, eventually you will need surgery.

3- I've had luck with things like celecoxib to reduce the pain. I admit it could be completely psychosomatic.

4- Get an awesome keyboard. DAS mechanical is what I have. Get a nice keyboard wrist rest.

5- Get an awesome mouse. I use the evoluent one (it is vertical, so you don't have your hand in an unnatural position all day) Also get a nice mouse wrist rest.

6- Make sure your seat/desk are at appropriate hights. Your knees and arms should bend at 90 degree angles.

7- Learn to type softer. Make a conscious effort at it. I, like most people, type way too hard. A good keyboard will help wonders with this.

All these steps seriously helped me. I applied them to my life at different stages. Now a days I hardly ever use the wrist support stuff, never need pills and can work ungodly hours without any real discomfort. But this type of improvement only came when I applied this shit religiously for a good 6-12 months (the biggest instant relief will come from the wrist support, which is why I mentioned it first)

 

[DreFromThaBay]

I just started noticing my pinky on my left hand (dominate hand) and my ring finger have been having a numb feeling on and off from time to time, can't believe the years of nerdom is finally catching up with me.

 

[Fatbat]

Those Geek Desks look pretty nice, their main selling point is the adjustable height. I'm wondering if I can just get a desk with a KB tray and force myself to use it.

Unless you're dropping mad coin on the desk, don't get an average desk with a keyboard tray built in. It'll be crap. Instead buy the desk that you want and then attach a quality multi adjustable keyboard tray to it. Keyboard and mouse trays are great and it won't take you long to get used to it.

With your current setup, try elevating your chair higher to get a better angle on your keyboard (as far as you can go without putting pressure on the backs of your legs, which when bent 90 degrees at the knee, feet flat on the floor, should be parallel to the floor). Your arms should rest comfortably on your desktop without any pressure from the edge of your desk. If you can't make your chair go higher, try lowering your desk if it has the capability. There should only be a small amount of room between the tops of your thighs and the underside of your desktop. Then adjust the height on your monitors so you're looking straight ahead, not up or down.

If you're using any kind of wrist rests, the gel kind or whatever, stop using them. They only apply pressure to the area that is getting inflamed.

Get a 3M mousing surface or similar <1mm thick gaming surface if you use a conventional mouse. Thick neoprene mouse pads add pressure to your wrist where it hits the hard edge of the pad and they elevate your hand causing the wrist to bend backwards, causing yet more pressure in the affected area.

 

[Nick]

I had CTS back in 2003 as a result of my desire to become supreme champion of all at AOE2. :uhoh2:

I discovered that tension (aka muscle knots) in the inner forearm was causing pressure on the carpal tunnel, which led to inflammation. If you compare it to your better arm, you'll notice that the affected forearm is a lot more tense. If so, look into trigger point therapy. This will break down the tension and make the muscle softer again. For elbow pain the tension will be in the outer part of the forearm.

This book is great for stretches, which can help relieve pain.
"Conquering Carpal Tunnel Syndrome and Other Repetitive Strain Injuries" [ame="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Conquering-Carpal-Syndrome-Repetitive-Injuries/dp/1572240393/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1368108610&sr=8-3-fkmr0&keywords=conquering+carpal+tunnel+syndrome+and+other+repetitive+strain+injuries+a+self-care+program"]Conquering Carpal Tunnel Syndrome and Other Repetitive Strain Injuries: Amazon.co.uk: Sharon J. Butler, Jacqueline Entwistle Freeman: Books[/ame]


There are books for trigger point therapy (like [ame=http://www.amazon.co.uk/Trigger-Point-Therapy-Workbook-Self-Treatment/dp/1572243759/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1368108670&sr=1-1&keywords=trigger+point+therapy]The Trigger Point Therapy Workbook: Your Self-Treatment for Pain Relief Trigger Point Therapy Workbook: Your Self-Treatment Guide for Pain Relief: Amazon.co.uk: Clair Davies, Amber Davies: Books[/ame]) but I'd seek a professional first.

 

[Telva]

Do the absolute minimal amount of computer work (none at all if you can) for the next week with no heavy lifting, straining, etc. Do some light wrist and arm movement/stretching exercises once or twice a day.

Different symptoms but my wrist tightness, lack of grip strength, thumb weakness/twitching went in about a week of doing <1hr a day work, I bought a Powerball and use it every couple of days to keep the strength up and so far everything has been good.

Sounds like you're at a critical point and need to cool down that inflammation asap.

 

[ShadowCaster]

Do the absolute minimal amount of computer work (none at all if you can)

Nice try, Matt Cutts.

 

[IceToEskimos]

That's not carpal tunnel, you're fucking up your ulnar nerve: Ulnar nerve entrapment - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Dr. Dchuk, I think you're right.

This. It's Cubital, not Carpal, Tunnel Syndrome.

It's what I had. It starts with pins and needles in the little and middle fingers, then grip goes, then fingers begin to claw and the muscles waste. My hand got really weak and bracing my arm and sleeping with it straight failed to cure it, so I had to have an operation. It took 2-3 years for my hand to fully recover. I say fully, it'll never be right, but I can use it without issue now.

Get a beach towel, and wrap it around the elbow when you go to sleep to stop bending it in your sleep. If that doesn't work after a couple of weeks then see a doctor. And don't bend your elbow and rest on it.

Exhaust all other options you can think of before going in for surgery. The long-term success rate for surgery is only around 50%. Some estimates are a bit higher or lower but the fact is for about half of the people who go through with the surgery, it doesn't do anything and leaves them worse off then before.

Same goes for the ulnar nerve issues. True ulnar nerve entrapment is rare. Most of the time I suspect the mental relief that comes from having the "problem fixed" along with forced lack of use during recovery time gives any overuse injury enough time to heal. Babying the surgery site too for a few months is long enough to permanently change posture habits, which may bring about pain relief as well.

There are a lot of good options ITT. New desk, new keyboard, new mouse are all good choices. It doesn't matter what brand because you will have to change your posture. If possible you might even want to set up a few computers and alternate the days you use each one.

I remember you said something about playing music in another thread, guitar can be a major contributor too.

I know it sounds like a pain in the ass, but consider dragon speaking software as well. Use your mouse on your "good hand" and. Consider a couple weeks of vacation if you can afford it.

Get checked out by a (good) doctor if symptoms persist/worsen. You could easily have a neck problem putting pressure on the nerve roots or a multitude of other but less common issues.

Thanks for all of this. I'm buying all kinds of new furniture and input devices this week, it looks like.

 

[transistor]

Get a set of braces. Wear them.

The problem with RSI is that once it becomes inflamed, it's easy to inflame again.

Braces will force your wrists to be at the correct angle. It will take a little get used to, but you will be able to work without pain, and it will help you improve your posture.

Also, use voice more.

Surgery should always be a last resort.

 

[brandonbaker]

From someone that isn't feeling any adverse effects of prolonged computer use, this thread has successfully freaked me the fuck out. Thanks bros.

 

[BenPOF]

Hey Ice,

I used to have pain in my wrists (to the point where I couldn't open a jar) but never numb though. This is due to working 8 hours then gaming for 8 hours. Anyway, I tried braces but they didn't work. Only thing that did work was a keyboards change:

Microsoft natural keyboard

I also tried the Logitech wave but Microsoft's is better.

And I would say this change lead to a 70% improvement. The other 20% consists or rest (unplug and go on a 2 week vacation or something) and lifting.. anything w/ free weights and upper body exercises will automatically strengthen your wrists. Not 100% but its better.. ex. can't do regular pushups, gotta do knuckle ones.

And the time to get used to an ergonomic keyboard.. maybe 30 mins?

 

[schindyguy]

Although it makes you look like JP from grandmas boy, this ergorest helped me
[ame=http://www.amazon.com/ErgoRest-330-016-BK-Articulating-Support-Black/dp/B000PSUXLS]Amazon.com: ErgoRest - 330-016-BK - ErgoRest Articulating Arm Support - Black - Long Arm, Long Pad: Office Products[/ame]

 

[IceToEskimos]

Although it makes you look like JP from grandmas boy, this ergorest helped me
Amazon.com: ErgoRest - 330-016-BK - ErgoRest Articulating Arm Support - Black - Long Arm, Long Pad: Office Products

between the geek desk, the ergonomic input devices, and now this, my office is about to become extremely weird.

 

[greenleaves]

between the geek desk, the ergonomic input devices, and now this, my office is about to become extremely weird.

Weird on WF is normal. Especially when you talk about offices.

 

[thehobbster]

I do. It's just recently starting to flare up real bad. Had the elbow to pinky numbness for a week too 5 months ago.

I eat so many anti-inflammatory ibuprofens that my liver is going to off itself.

inb4 jeffrey

 

[LiamLennon]

THIS.

I also agree a trackball mouse makes a big difference. It has saved me. I can't work for than a couple of hours with a regular mouse anymore with it killing me.