Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

Typing all day can be a pain in the wrist! I'm talking about carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS), which occurs when the median nerve, running from the forearm into the hand, becomes compressed at the wrist. This nerve runs through the narrow carpal tunnel at the base of the hand, and controls sensations to the palm side of your thumb and fingers. It also signals movement in small hand muscles, creating motion in the fingers and thumb.

Women, whose smaller carpal tunnels make them more prone to developing this problem, are three times more likely than men to develop CTS. The tingly and painful syndrome can be caused by injury or fluid retention during pregnancy, but the most common causes are repetitive motions like typing and mousing.

To prevent carpal tunnel syndrome, try these suggestions:

1. Alter your desk ergonomics as needed. Adjust the height of your chair so your forearms are level with your keyboard so your wrists don't need to flex while typing.
2. Use a wrist pad ($9) that runs the length of your keyboard, propping up the heels of your palms, so your forearms, wrists, and hands are in one straight line. This position should prevent the median nerve from getting squeezed. If your mousing hand bothers you, try a mouse pad ($14) with extra cushioning to support your wrist.

There are three other suggestions, so read more

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• This video demonstration show you some great ways to help relieve carpal tunnel syndrome. — Boing Boing
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Although doctors say that mouse and computer use is not a severe occupational hazard for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, my hand cramps up somethin' fierce after working all day. To fight those cramps, discomfort, and hand boredom in general, do these quick hand exercises from eHand for mousing relief!

Sit or stand while doing the following exercises, and hold all stretches for a count of five!

• Extend your hands.
• Stretch both your wrists and fingers like you're doing a handstand.
• Then, straighten your wrists and relax your fingers.
• Make tight fists with both hands and bend them downward.
• Straighten both your wrists and relax your fingers.
• If you can stand up, shake out your arms and hands.
• Remouse!

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Since many of us are working on a computer all day, we may be putting ourselves at risk for carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS). It happens when the median nerve, which runs from the forearm into the hand, becomes pressed or squeezed at the wrist. This nerve controls sensations to the palm side of your thumb and fingers, as well as impulses to some small muscles in the hand that allow the fingers and thumb to move. The carpal tunnel is a narrow passageway of ligament and bones at the base of the hand, which houses the median nerve and tendons.

Some people are more prone to this because they have a smaller carpel tunnel. For this reason, women are three times more likely than men to develop CTS. It can also be caused by an injury, fluid retention during pregnancy, or repetitive motions like using a mouse or keyboard.

Here are some ways to prevent the pain and tingly sensations caused by CTS:

1. Check out the ergonomics of your desk setup. Adjust the height of your chair so that your forearms are level with your keyboard so you don't have to flex your wrists to type.
2. Using one of those pads that run along the length of your keyboard will prop up the heels of your palms, so that your forearms, wrists, and hands are in one straight line, which could prevent the nerve from getting squeezed. If your mousing hand bothers you, try one of those mouse pads that has extra cushioning you can rest your wrist on.

There are a few more suggestions, so read more

When you're pregnant, you expect your feet and ankles to swell and your fingers to puff up like lil sausages, but you don't expect the swelling in your wrists and hands to cause a mild case of carpal tunnel syndrome.

I first discovered this before going to bed at night. My wrists and hands had a dull pain and were even numb and tingly at times. I was alarmed enough to call my doctor. She told me I was experiencing a small and probably temporary case of carpal tunnel syndrome. According to ahealthyme.com:

"Some studies show that as many as one out of four pregnant women complains of the syndrome, usually in the second or third trimester of pregnancy when fluid retention in the arms and hands is more likely to put pressure on the nerve that leads to the hands and fingers."

A friend of mine had it bad enough that she had to treat the condition with an arm splint. I was able to alleviate some of the pain by sleeping with my arms propped up in an elevated position. Luckily for both of us, it went away soon after baby arrived.
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