Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Concerns

If you were in the workforce in the early 90's you probably started hearing a new medical term. Carpal Tunnel Syndrome or just plain carpal tunnel. Some feel that the new syndrome has reached epidemic status as millions of people claim to have it.

With all the attention given to this painful problem over the past 15 years a solution to the problem is still not available for all cases. The syndrome is fairly easily diagnosed. Some confusion exists as the degree of discomfort will vary between individual and the length of time the condition has existed. At times wrist tendonitis is confused with carpal pain.

*What is carpal tunnel?

It is at the base of the hand and more on the hand side than on the wrist. There is a protective covering over the nerves, muscles, tendons and blood vessels feeding the hand. They are all in close proximity to each other as they neck down passing through the tunnel

*What causes it?

Any damage to the carpal area causes friction in the tunnel and inflammation. This damage can be from holding the hand in a fixed position for extended periods of time. If the hand is in a cramped position while sleeping nerve irritation may result which is then made worse by repetitive stressing. A bruise or other injury to the base of the hand could also cause the initial irritation.

*Some symptoms are

Some of the symptoms include numbness, tingling, the pins and needles sensation and loss of strength. In advanced cases there can be severe pain in the base of the hand.

*Can symptoms be reduced or eliminated?

If the pain is excruciating, muscle relaxers and pain relief medicine can be a short term help. They will do nothing to eliminate the problem. The problem is most often caused by muscle imbalance. Stretching and flexing the muscles and tendons in the carpal area will often provide relief. In an advanced case this can be very difficult to do. Once a nerve is inflamed it takes a long time to reduce the inflammation and provide healing.

If the irritation occurs regularly as in the hand being in an uncomfortable position while sleeping, a hand brace used only at night can bring about relief.

Your lifestyle can be an important factor. Lack of exercise and a poor diet are some of the factors as well as smoking and excessive drinking. A run down body aids many ailments.

Carpal tunnel surgery is very popular. Many doctors have recommended surgery rather than try some of the techniques available. Surgery is expensive and the convalescent time in some cases is quite long. Statistics provide the following information: 70% of the carpal tunnel operations are successful. 30% are not. Recovery times for an unsuccessful operation can be very long if the full use of the wrist hand relationship is ever restored.

Consult a qualified health care provider, but, look for other ways to address the problem.

People are finding relief from the pain and discomfort without surgery. Consult your health care provider for an alternative. A chiropractor as may be a good contact as they understand muscle imbalance.

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome - A Secondary Effect

By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Jeff_Anliker,_LMT]Jeff Anliker, LMT

What causes carpal tunnel syndrome to develop? Although there are many professional opinions out there regarding the subject, most do not provide an accurate description of how carpal tunnel syndrome actually occurs.

What is agreed upon is the fact that the flexor tendons and median nerve are operating in a much smaller space than they were prior to the onset of symptoms. Many professionals state that it is the swelling of the involved tissues that is diminishing the space and others say that is caused by a muscle imbalance between the flexor and extensor muscles that is causing the carpal bones to shift into the carpal tunnel, making the carpal tunnel much smaller.

After much research, my opinion is that the swelling is a "secondary effect" of the nine flexor tendons and median nerve having to glide through the carpal tunnel which has decreased in size due to a muscle imbalance*.

How does the carpal tunnel decrease in size? The carpal tunnel decreases in size because the flexor muscles that 'close' the hands are exercised on a daily basis with virtually every activity we perform, and they become stronger, shorter and tighter than the extensor muscles that 'open' the hands, thus causing the carpal bones to shift inward, collapsing the carpal tunnel and making it smaller. As the tendons and median nerve slide back and forth in the much smaller space, friction between the tissues occurs.

What does friction in the carpal tunnel cause? Friction between flexor tendons and median nerve within the carpal tunnel causes inflammation and swelling, which puts pressure on the median nerve, resulting in carpal tunnel syndrome. This is the reason that surgeons sever the carpal ligament, making more room for the flexor tendons and median nerve to move around in. If the carpal tunnel is returned back to its original size, prior to onset of symptoms, the friction and swelling is eliminated and the symptoms disappear.

Continually performing repetitive wrist and finger flexion while symptoms are already present will ultimately aggravate the existing condition even more and lead to possible irreversible damage of the flexor tendons, blood vessels and median nerve within the carpal tunnel.

How can carpal tunnel syndrome be eliminated? By stretching and lengthening the overly restrictive flexor muscles that 'close' the hands and strengthening and shortening the extensor muscles that 'open' the hands, the carpal tunnel can return to its normal size, decreasing impingement of the tendons and median nerve, which also eliminates friction and causes the carpal tunnel symptoms to disappear.

Now is the time to take the steps to prevent carpal tunnel syndrome or rehabilitate an existing injury by starting a stretch / exercise program for your hands. Speak with your doctor or contact a certified therapist today to implement a good stretch and exercise program to keep you strong, healthy and injury-free!

*REFERENCE MATERIALS:

"If certain muscle groups are underused, opposing muscle groups will be overused. Muscles in either a lengthened or shortened position will be at a mechanical disadvantage and weak. The overused group will hypertrophy, and the underused group will continue to be weak. This combination produces a self perpetuating condition that maintains the abnormal posture and muscle imbalance." Philip E. Higgs, M.D. and Susan E. Mackinnon, M.D. Department of Surgery, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri. Annu. Rev. Med. 1995. 46:1-16

"Muscle balance must be restored with specific exercises. Otherwise, the already strong and overused muscles get stronger, and the weak and underused muscles remain weak. Individuals get good at using the overused muscles and must be trained specifically to recruit and strengthen the weak underused muscles." Philip E. Higgs, M.D. and Susan E. Mackinnon, M.D. Department of Surgery, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri. Annu. Rev. Med. 1995. 46:1-16

"All of the extrinsic hand muscles become involved in a power grip, in proportion to the strength of the grip."........ "Strong agonist-antagonist interactions are needed between the flexors and extensors of the hand and fingers to produce forceful hand-grip. Powerful flexion of the distal phalanges requires strong activity also of the finger extensors." Janet G. Travell, M.D. and David G. Simons, M.D. Myofascial Pain and Dysfunction-The Trigger Point Manual. Volume1 Upper Extremities, Ch:35, pg. 501. Copyright 1983.

Jeff Anliker, LMT, is a Therapist and Inventor of Therapeutic Exercise Products that are utilized by Corporations, Consumers and Medical Facilities around the world for the prevention and rehabilitation of repetitive strain injuries. [http://www.repetitive-strain.com]repetitive-strain.com

Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com/?Carpal-Tunnel-Syndrome---A-Secondary-Effect&id=109775] Carpal Tunnel Syndrome - A Secondary Effect

Carpal Tunnel & Computers

By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Jeff_Anliker]Jeff Anliker

While there are a lot of rumors about carpal tunnel syndrome, it is hard to find a definitive answer on what, if any, actual link there is between the development of carpal tunnel syndrome and the use of computers. 

Does computer use increase one's chances of developing carpal tunnel syndrome?  If you do a "search" on the internet, you can find several stories that say no, and just as many that say yes . . . sometimes even from the same source!  While there are still some conflicting beliefs on how the use of computers affects carpal tunnel syndrome, the problem seems to be more prevalent than ever before.  This article will help to show the correlation between extensive computer use and carpal tunnel syndrome.

There is a general belief that working for extended periods of time using a computer will lead to an increase in carpal tunnel syndrome, and that jobs such as data entry lead to higher risk of carpal tunnel syndrome.  Since carpal tunnel syndrome is caused by constant repetitive or static motion of the hands and wrists, logically this would make sense.  There are several studies that initially suggested that the repetitive motion and static flexion that is involved when using a computer or playing video games may cause carpal tunnel.  Though this is not conclusively proven in studies, what is proven is that any task that involves excessive duration, repetition and force does in fact cause carpal tunnel syndrome. 

Carpal tunnel syndrome can be caused by anything that involves excessive unidirectional movement patterns that require too much force, duration and repetition, as the overused muscles begin to compress the carpal tunnel and the median nerve within.  The tendons that pass through the carpal tunnel (a small area between the carpal bones  and the transverse carpal ligament in the wrist) can become swollen from doing the same movement over and over, like typing on a computer or playing video games or a musical instrument for long periods of time.  Long time use of a computer often leads to writer's cramp, which some argue is an early onset of carpal tunnel syndrome.

Some people might think that carpal tunnel syndrome is a new condition of the information technology age, born from long hours of computer keyboarding, but carpal tunnel is not new, it just seems to appear more often because the nature of work has changed. More jobs are highly specialized and require the overuse of only a small number of muscles repeatedly, leading to a muscle imbalance.  If one muscle group is overused, then the opposing muscle group must be underused.  It is basic common sense.  Because of the underlying assumption that computer use contributes to carpal tunnel syndrome, concern from the government and employers continues to grow.  Ironically, studies out of the Mayo Clinic released by the government seem to actually show that using a computer does not increase the risk of developing carpal tunnel syndrome. (Of course many of these studies are not taking in the appropriate information or using the correct protocols, while others have a biased agenda.) 

There are arguments over why this is.  The test showed that those who worked a long period of time every day with computers had the same percentage of people develop carpal tunnel syndrome as everyone else.   One of the suggestions for the reasoning is that the continued use of computers would only affect people who did not practice appropriate form.  People who are employed to work with computers are generally better trained in how to type from home row, how to keep their wrists straight, and how to use good posture.  All three of these factors will help to decrease instances of carpal tunnel syndrome, which in turn can help keep the number of injuries down. 

On the other side of the equation, computer use by individuals who hold their wrists and fingers wrong, and put pressure on their hands may actually cause the individuals to get carpal tunnel from using the computer constantly.  This may be why the belief that computer use causes carpal tunnel syndrome remains strong, even when testing suggests otherwise.  Individuals trained in how to properly use a computer will have all the exercises and appropriate postures down, and hence not experience the same injuries and muscle imbalances as say someone who does not use appropriate form or perform muscle balancing exercises and stretches.

While the studies suggest that extensive use of a computer does not contribute to carpal tunnel syndrome, even that piece of information should come with its own caveat, that being that proper use of a computer appears to not increase the chances of carpal tunnel, but you need to learn to use proper posture and know the correct stretches and exercises to perform because excessive use of the computer without proper hand positions leads to imbalances in the hands, wrists, forearms and shoulders that can contribute to the onset of carpal tunnel syndrome.

JeffP. Anliker and BSI Staff - Includes Therapists, Inventors and Researchers that work together to provide information to Corporations, Consumers and Medical Facilities around the world for the treatment of muscle imbalances affecting the upper extremity. [http://www.repetitive-strain.com]Balance Systems, Inc.

Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com/?Carpal-Tunnel-and-Computers&id=195727] Carpal Tunnel & Computers