Lively Women

Avoiding Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

by Kristen King on April 16th, 2007

Your fingers are tingling, your wrist is aching, and you can’t bear the thought of typing just one more e-mail.  Face it, girl, you’ve got carpal tunnel syndrome, and in today’s overconnected society, it’ll get much worse if you don’t do something about it fast!

Although carpal tunnel can be the result of a impact (like falling hard and catching yourself with your hands), it’s more commonly known as a repetitive motion injury.  Translation?  You do it to yourself…over and over again.

According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke,

Carpal tunnel syndrome occurs when the median nerve, which runs from the forearm into the hand, becomes pressed or squeezed at the wrist. The median nerve controls sensations to the palm side of the thumb and fingers (although not the little finger), as well as impulses to some small muscles in the hand that allow the fingers and thumb to move. The carpal tunnel - a narrow, rigid passageway of ligament and bones at the base of the hand ¾ houses the median nerve and tendons. Sometimes, thickening from irritated tendons or other swelling narrows the tunnel and causes the median nerve to be compressed.

Fun, huh?  And the result is pain, aching, and numbness that can range in duration from a few seconds to ongoing and even permanent.  So how do you avoid this mostly preventable, completely inconvenient ailment? 

Well, obviously you can try to avoid falling and anything else that can cause trauma to your wrists (or any other part of your body, for that matter).  But perhaps less obviously, you can make a point of taking breaks when sitting at the computer for any length of time, playing the piano, using a screwdriver…anything you do that puts stress on your wrist.  You can use these breaks fully by stretching and rotating your wrists to increase blood flow and reduce pressure on the nerves. 

Also, make sure your workspace is user friendly.  Get a wrist support pad for your keyboard and mouse and make sure your chair is a the right height.  (A tip: Your arms should create a right angle at your elbow when you’re sitting in front of your computer.

Another option, and one I use from time to time, is to pick up a splint or brace at your local drug store to immobilize your wrist in the proper position for best circulation and minimum pressure.  Depending on the quality of brace you want, they generally run about $15 to about $30, and they last a LONG time.

What carpal tunnel tricks have you discovered?

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POSTED IN: Injury, Prevention