|
||||
|
||||
|
||||
All materials on this website are copyrighted. Copyright © 2005-2008 by The Trustees of Columbia University in the City of New York. All rights reserved.
Mac users: please note that our site is optimized for the Safari browser. |
|
Environmental health
|
Prevention of carpal tunnel syndrome
Originally Published: September 02, 1994
|
|
|
Dear Alice,
I find that after only a fair amount of typing on my computer keyboard, I have achy wrists -- it's really getting quite uncomfortable. I am thirty-eight years old, a full-time graduate student, and a full-time professional writer (prose as well as scripts), so I need to do a lot of typing! I am worried about carpal tunnel syndrome (although I don't think that's what I have, at least not yet -- the symptoms are mostly aching in both wrists, on the top). What do you suggest? I can't afford to lose my typing ability (I have a friend who is forty-two, a professional writer, and panicked because she has terrible burning and pain in her arm which has been diagnosed as "over-use syndrome" from typing -- I can't let this happen to me!) Signed, Typing Alot
Dear Typing Alot, Carpal tunnel syndrome is not a new disorder, it is simply the degree to which it has been affecting people that has grown steadily into the nineties. Twelve years ago, repetitive motion disorders accounted for 18% of all occupational injuries; by 1991, that percentage had risen to 48%. Using a computer as a professional writer as much as you do has eliminated the range of tasks that used to be inherent in your work. Using a typewriter meant making corrections by hand, rolling paper into and out of the carriage, and pausing to look up the correct spelling of a word. These "break" jobs have all been automated on the computer, so that sitting at a keyboard for long periods of time provides no variation and no "wrist rest" time. The resultant stress is far more than the wrist was anatomically designed to handle. It is repetition without adequate recovery time that causes inflammation and swelling in the wrist's carpal tunnel. A study sponsored by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health found that more than eight or nine repetitions per minute did not allow wrists sufficient time to produce enough lubricating fluid. The resulting friction, in the absence of lubrication, leads to swelling and scarring. The swollen and scarred tissue then presses against the median nerve running through the carpal tunnel directly below. In time, the pressure atrophies the nerve, and the muscles of the thumb and the first three fingers that the nerve controls. The hand or hands cease to function adequately, and the keyboardist can become permanently disabled. Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) and other repetitive stress injuries can be prevented. Please see the answer to "Computer hazards?" for more information. Another suggestion is to wear a preventative splint when typing, since you don't intend to change careers in the near future. Splints can aid in diminishing the likelihood of CTS, and are individually fitted to allow enough freedom of movement to perform the work; but in a way that will not allow the wrist to bend at a damaging angle, or perform too many repetitions per minute. The splints can keep you from getting to the stage that your friend is in, that of constant numbness and tingling, combined with a loss of muscular strength. Consult your doctor about the possibility of being fitted for a preventative splint. Most important, take breaks from your typing, vary your tasks, and keep good posture. You don't have to end up with burning pain like your friend... prevention is the best cure!
Related Q&As |
Go Ask Alice! is not an emergency or instant response service.