HIT: Carpal Tunnel (Long)

["Grigsby, Susan" <SGrigsby@EPSTEIN-ATL.ORG>]

I had several requests for a hit, so here it is. Thanks to everyone who
wrote in - and there were MANY. As for me, there is not a great deal I can
do with my workstation but I did see a licensed massage therapist who, in a
30-minute massage, got rid of the pain in my right wrist. She recommended a
fingerless glove that fits like an ace bandage - wear it when doing computer
work. She's going to do some more work on me so it looks like I'm going to
avoid some of the problems I heard about. Thanks again to everyone who
replied!
***
A couple years ago, my GP and I thought I might have the start of CT -
turned out to be an elbow problem.  Weird!
...to minimize future CT problems, I make sure I have a wrist pad by my
computer keyboard.  I try to type no longer than 10 minutes without taking a
break to shrug my shoulders, roll my head a little and flex and unflex my
hands.  It took some deliberate work to make this part of my routine, but it
has helped.  I also get up frequently and walk away from my computer - that
helps too. Another thing that has helped is to be careful with the handfuls
of books I pick up to shelve.  I used to try to stretch my hands to the
limit - sometimes getting 5 or 6 books in a handful.  Now I limit myself to
a comfortable 3 or 4.  It takes a little longer, but may save lots in the
future.
***
It is caused by inflammation of the ligament or tendon, and tightening of
the muscle.  Most doctors want to operate which tends to make matters worse.
I went to see a massage therapist who massaged and stretched the area and am
better now.  I went for about 6 weeks.
***
I was diagnosed with carpal tunnel and told to reduce my work at the
computer (almost impossible) and to modify my work station.  One day at
work, I hurt so much that I called my neurologist for another appointment.
Hearing that he was going to be away for 10 days, it suddenly occurred to me
call my chiropractor (not of the manipulation but of the activator school).
On examination she told me that my back was out of alignment and that was
what was causing the pain in my arms and wrists and hands.  (I had been
fully tested by a reputable neurologist before receiving the carpal tunnel
diagnosis.)  I saw her three times, and have had no pain since -- that was
two years ago.
***
I don't have Carpal tunnel, but I do have a repetitive stress disorder,
that is sometimes called "librarian's elbow" on this list. It was caused by
too much computer use, and a barcode scanner that wasn't working correctly.
I did file a workman's comp claim, that paid for my physical therapy.   The
inside of my elbow had been sore for awhile, but then my bicep became very
hard and very painful. After several weeks of physical therapy, it really
improved. I now do exercises for it daily, and lift weights (hand held). I
also wear a brace with a gel pad on my arm.  I wear the brace whenever I am
on the computer.
***
...my husband was just diagnosed with it ...  His orthopedist sent him to a
neurologist who ran a seemingly simple test to diagnose it.  The neurologist
told him that his problems stemmed from work (he had a shoulder injury which
forced him to do his computer work one-handed...) and, therefore, Workman's
Comp. could be used...physician also wrote a report to the folks at
Workman's Comp....
***
I haven't been formally diagnosed, but have experienced numbness and a
"coldness" in my arm and fingers when working for a while at the computer.
I mentioned these symptoms to a physical therapist and she suggested to
watch my posture, head positioning (should be straight neck, not turned),
make certain that my fingers are lower than my wrist when working, take
frequent breaks, and possibly use a roller ball mouse and/or bean-bag type
mouse pad so that my mouse can be in my lap.  Also, the school secretary
bought glove-like wrist supports (minus the fingers)that she feels have
helped her.  Other than that, I don't know, but would like to know more to
avoid future trouble.  I too would like to know if it is covered by
workman's comp.  P.S.  I have begun the process of learning to use my left
hand for mouse control.
***
Last year at the beginning of school my regular doctor diagnosed me
with arthritis and carpal tunnel...a few days after I had entered 500 names
and social security numbers into the circulating computer. I could hardly
move my right wrist because of the pain. However, I didn't attempt to file
for worker's comp. I took anti-inflammatory drugs for awhile and wore a
wrist brace. Haven't had too many problems since, but I'm rather careful.
Actually, when I get on the net to surf, I put the mouse on my left side so
I don't use my right arm too much. It seems that actual typing bothers me
more than using the mouse.
***
I fought the battle of the carpal tunnel last spring.  For a few months I
had noticed aching in my wrists and lack of strength in my left hand. I also
would get tingly fingers and numbness down my thumb to my wrist.  When I
finally asked my internist about it, he demonstrated how much usability I
had lost.  I tried wearing a brace which worked fine as long as I wore it,
but I got tired of it. I had surgery and have since recovered all the
strength in the hand and no more aching. It was odd, however, that it was
much worse in my left hand than my right - and I am right-handed.  I only
had the surgery on my left hand and since then have had no problems with my
right, either.
The surgery was great as far as surgery goes - only took about 15 minutes,
was in a cast for a week and then just had to be careful with it after.  I
only missed a couple of days of work, and really had no pain, just the
nuisance of the cast. As far as worker's comp, I had too many jobs to be
able to assign a particular one as the cause.  My insurance company didn't
like that, I guess that most cases are worker's comp.  My principal did
offer to cover it as such...
***
Both my husband and I experience CT, we have a tingling sensation in our
fingers. My aide suggested we take vitamin B6 (100mg, once a day), and it
does seem to work......hope it helps.
***
I had carpal tunnel syndrome for more than 10 years before I realized that
that was what it was.  I thought my hand just fell asleep while I was
driving or doing other wrist-bending things.  I found a mention of it in a
pregnancy book, and it matched my symptoms, so I mentioned it to my doctor,
who recommended that I begin sleeping in wrist splints.  Eventually, it got
worse and affected both hands, and I ended up having surgeries to correct
the problem.  Unfortunately, it is coming back in my right hand.  It may be
covered by workman's comp; you'd have to check with the people who handle
that where you work.  In my case, insurance paid for the surgeries.
***
One thing my husband has done for years is to sleep with a wrist stabilizer
which prevents the wrist from turning inwards.  He uses, believe it or not,
a bowler's glove which has a metal shaft in it but I'm sure that you can get
something more specialized.  Docs treat CT with anti-inflammatory drugs.
Surgery by no means a cure-all and I have heard of people who have had the
surgery several times.  Also, there are people who have been cured by the
surgery.  My husband has had excellent results from acupuncture.  We are
very fortunate to have an outstanding massage therapist who is trained in
various deep-muscle/tissue work.  She has learned a new technique called
Active Release Therapy (ART) and is teaching it.  She has relieved the CT of
many, many people through this technique.  She also believes that CT is
misdiagnosed and that the problem often lies elsewhere other than the wrist,
say elbow, shoulder.
***
I was dividing a (large) book collection...and doing all the computer work
and re-barcoding all books within six months.  I weeded this collection
(too)...Half way into the six months I realized that my wrist was really
hurting. Aleve didn't help after a while.  I wore the department store
carpal
tunnel bandage for the rest of the time at night only.  I was lucky that I
had a friend who knew the repetitive motions I was doing (created the)
carpal tunnel.  Would have to take days off to help the wrist heal.  Dumbly,
I would set number of books to be finished with for a day, a week , a month
and I finally had to forget those goals.  My hand was worth more than
finishing early.
***
I asked my doctor (general practitioner) about carpal tunnel because my hand
got numb and tingly so often, even when I was asleep. He referred me to an
orthopedic surgeon who...sent me to a neurologist for a specialized test
involving electrodes...I definitely had carpal tunnel syndrome, and that
because it had gone untreated for a long time (perhaps ten years, off and
on), I had suffered some permanent nerve damage.
The doctor said it's important to get a carpal tunnel problem treated,
because nerve damage can lead to the atrophy of muscles which
don't receive enough stimulation from the nerves. I was past that point, and
did have surgery (at an outpatient clinic).  The recovery went according to
schedule, and I almost never have any numbness now.  A year later, about the
only thing that ever bothers my hand is holding a telephone receiver to my
ear for a long time. I should say that I now avoid doing the heavy yard work
that caused most of my problems--things that involved gripping something,
especially something vibrating. Driving for several hours could result in
shooting pains as if a "freezing hot" ice pick were being stuck in my elbow.
None of this was really work-related.
***
I was a legal secretary for eight years and got carpal tunnel.  The symptoms
were that, especially my right had, would tingle like your feet do when they
fall asleep.  Later it was actually painful, too.  So, this would disturb my
sleep until I dangled my arm over the side of the bed to bring my hand back
to life.  Also, the tingling spread from my thumb to the right side of my
ring finger.  The left side and the little finger were not involved. Went to
an orthopedist (who) first gave me a brace to wear at night.  That worked
for some time until I got up the courage to have it taken care of during the
summer of 1997. After the surgery, I had to wear a very large bandage for
about a week or so.  Then he put me in a cast for at least 3-4 weeks. I'm
very happy that I had it done!
***
Mine is controlled by wearing a brace and taking Advil when it really flares

up (usually it's under control).  I know, for example, that as soon as I
start inventory each year, I start wearing the brace for most of the day and
all night.
***
I had/have carpal tunnel.  It was considered a repetitive stress injury and
was covered by worker's comp.  My hand (thumb) tingled and had a loss of
sensation.  I did not have surgery as I tried to nip it in the bud.  My
workstations were evaluated and found to be an ergonomic nightmare.
Adjustments were made (new chair at the correct height and keyboard pads)
and this  helped with the syndrome.
***
I developed carpal tunnel syndrome a year ago when I spent hours per
day on the computer researching information for our school board.  At the
same time we spent weekends painting the rooms in our house. I finally went
to the dr when the numbness at night kept me awake. She suggested advil, and
wearing a wrist brace around the clock for two weeks.  Then wear the brace
at night only for a month or until the numbness disappeared.  Naturally, I
made my husband finish the painting. I wore the brace (which I bought at the
drugstore) whenever I used the computer for any length of time.  I also got
wristpads to support my arm when using the mouse.
***
Mine started with numbness in my finger tips.  After a while it progressed
into my wrist and arm--pain and tingling. Eventually I couldn't even sleep
because of the pain, even up into my shoulder and neck.   When I had to
resort to sleeping in my recliner, I said enough was enough and went to my
family doctor. Besides a mild pain pill, he (treated) me with a diuretic
(water pill).  He said I was retaining fluids, and he wanted to see if this
would help to relieve the pressure in the carpal tunnel area. Well, he was
right!  As soon as those first few water pills kicked in, the pain in my
wrist started to decrease. I thought he was a miracle worker!  I don't
remember how long I was on those pills, but they sure made life bearable
again. I've had friends who went straight to surgery for the same problem.
I guess if the pills hadn't worked so well for me, I would have needed it,
too.
***
I was diagnosed with severe CT after going to drs. for back ache--referral
pain is how it was explained.  By the summer I couldn't stand the back pain
any longer and had my right hand done.  It was well worth the surgery.  I
did not have mine covered my workman's comp.  One of the drs. giving me the
tests said that there is an opinion that CT is more prevalent in people with
square boned wrists, since not everyone with CT fits into some job
occupation mold.  I still sleep in the splints on my left hand, and my right
hand has had no problems. The worst part was the anesthetic (I was sleepy
all summer) and the first two weeks getting dressed.

Susan Grigsby, LMS
The Epstein School, Atlanta Georgia
sgrigsby@epstein-atl.org

What is hateful to you, do not to another: this is the whole Torah, the rest
is commentary.  Hillel.

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