Carpal tunnel

[Lisa_Rose]

Saw the doc on Friday and she said I have carpal tunnel in my left hand (as I suspected). She also said there was some atrophy in the muscle at the base of my thumb

I am seeing a specialist in 2 weeks, but does anyone who has CT have any advice such as exercises/stretches that help? I can't even pick up my 20-pound dog anymore...did that last night and paid for it. I got a brace from Rite Aid that I wear to help with the flare ups.

Thanks.

[jimmie 48]

Re: Carpal tunnel

you're pretty young for this. i think this happens more as you age, though i am not an expert by no means.
my mom had it at an older age. she had surgery and is doing great ever since.

i remember that when i was heavy, my hand and fingers would go numb while cross stitching. since losing my weight, i can say i haven't had one episode of numbness.

keep us posted on what the second opinion is!

[Lisa_Rose]

Re: Carpal tunnel

Hi Jimmie, thanks for your response. It's been building up over the years from intermittent to frequent...probably a result of being on the computer all day at work then most of the evening at home (hubby and I are computer game nerds ). I'm working on making my computer areas more ergonomic.

I'll let you know what the specialist says in 2 weeks. My symptoms do seem to match up with CT such as tingling fingers and moderate soreness in the wrist and forearm...hopefully I'll have more helpful info at my upcoming appointment.

[tmn]

Re: Carpal tunnel

(I sure hope people don't get sick of seeing my suggestions on here. 50 years allowed a lot of problems...)

Two things have helped me. One is a very warm/cold water treatment. Place your hand intermittently in cold water and very warm water. That helps tendons loosen up, remove certain problems/toxins (?), and relief some pain.

Second is a stretch from a physical therapist.

Stand in front of a wall, extending your arm out at shoulder height. Place your hand against the wall with your heal of your hand against the wall and your fingers splayed out. (Another way to describe this is place your hand flat against the wall with your figures wide open.) And turn the hand out so your fingers are pointing to the right (right hand) and your thumb is pointing up. (I'm trying to find an image of this for demo.) This will stretch not only the area with the carpel tunnel but also different muscles and tendons up the inside of your arm. To make it stretch out more, slowly turn your out until your arm is stretched out to your side.
The therapist told me squeezing soft balls will aggravate carpal tunnel so you may want to keep that in mind.

I'll try to find some images online...

[boonie stomper]

Re: Carpal tunnel

I've had it, (worst case while pregnant), and only have the rare flare up today, usually from overworking my wrists/hands or from sleeping with my hand(s) curled up under my neck.

A brace worn at night to keep your wrist cocked can be helpful (Dr. prescribed that during the preg), but in your case, I would without fail make sure you do something to improve your ergonomics on the job! I adjusted my seat height, I can type now with palms/wrists resting on a raised bar along the front of the keyboard tray (it slides undeer the desk when not in use). I also ordered a mousepad with a gel cushion for the palm/wrist. They make long gel pads for in front of keyboards as well. Made a tremendous improvement in comfort immediately for me!

[tmn]

Re: Carpal tunnel

The image here http://www.stat.rice.edu/~cscott/rsi/wall.JPG is really close to what I'm trying to describe. The differences are you start out facing the wall and your fingers are more wide open. If/when you turn out somewhat like this fellow is doing, everything are pretty much at 90-degree angles. But if you do turn out, do it SLOWLY! Things will be tight!

That with the intermittent warm/cold water has been pretty effective with me. When it's really bad, I'll also sleep with a brace to protect the wrist from some awkward position.

[Lisa_Rose]

Re: Carpal tunnel

(I sure hope people don't get sick of seeing my suggestions on here. 50 years allowed a lot of problems...)

Two things have helped me. One is a very warm/cold water treatment. Place your hand intermittently in cold water and very warm water. That helps tendons loosen up, remove certain problems/toxins (?), and relief some pain.

Second is a stretch from a physical therapist.

Stand in front of a wall, extending your arm out at shoulder height. Place your hand against the wall with your heal of your hand against the wall and your fingers splayed out. (Another way to describe this is place your hand flat against the wall with your figures wide open.) And turn the hand out so your fingers are pointing to the right (right hand) and your thumb is pointing up. (I'm trying to find an image of this for demo.) This will stretch not only the area with the carpel tunnel but also different muscles and tendons up the inside of your arm. To make it stretch out more, slowly turn your out until your arm is stretched out to your side.
The therapist told me squeezing soft balls will aggravate carpal tunnel so you may want to keep that in mind.

I'll try to find some images online...

Thanks Tmn, I viewed the demo picture too and it helps me see how to do the stretch. I'm going to try this when I get home.

I never knew ball squeezing would aggravate the carpal tunnel...I was thinking about it (for my thumb muscles) but doesn't sound like a good idea now!

The warm/cold water treatment sounds helpful and easy to do too. thank you

[Lisa_Rose]

Re: Carpal tunnel

I've had it, (worst case while pregnant), and only have the rare flare up today, usually from overworking my wrists/hands or from sleeping with my hand(s) curled up under my neck.

A brace worn at night to keep your wrist cocked can be helpful (Dr. prescribed that during the preg), but in your case, I would without fail make sure you do something to improve your ergonomics on the job! I adjusted my seat height, I can type now with palms/wrists resting on a raised bar along the front of the keyboard tray (it slides undeer the desk when not in use). I also ordered a mousepad with a gel cushion for the palm/wrist. They make long gel pads for in front of keyboards as well. Made a tremendous improvement in comfort immediately for me!

I have a gel pad that goes across the entire keyboard tray at work, but not at home. I should get one for my home computer (I use it a lot). Thanks!

[tmn]

Re: Carpal tunnel

Thanks Tmn, I viewed the demo picture too and it helps me see how to do the stretch. I'm going to try this when I get home.

I never knew ball squeezing would aggravate the carpal tunnel...I was thinking about it (for my thumb muscles) but doesn't sound like a good idea now!

The warm/cold water treatment sounds helpful and easy to do too. thank you

No idea what your therapist will suggest. I'd definitely wait and see what the therapist says for that thumb muscle. However, my physical therapist has been stressing NO PAIN when I'm doing my stretches and exercises for my atrophied muscles in my leg. She says atrophied muscles are slow to get stronger but if there's pain, I'm doing too much, the stronger muscles are taking over, and the weak muscles may get worse instead of better. That may able to these stretches for you, too. If there's pain, back off.

When I started this, I'll lie on my back with both legs flat down. I can raise my right leg without ANY problem. UP DOWN UP DOWN UP DOWN!!! But when I tried to lift my left leg, I couldn't even get it off the surface and the pain that shot through was EXCRUTIATING! Happy to say I can raise it a couple inches now once or twice a session but it wears me right out! It's improving, very slowly but it is!

[Lisa_Rose]

Re: Carpal tunnel

She says atrophied muscles are slow to get stronger but if there's pain, I'm doing too much, the stronger muscles are taking over, and the weak muscles may get worse instead of better. That may able to these stretches for you, too. If there's pain, back off.

I'll definitely keep the no-pain part in mind while doing the stretches. What happened to your leg, if it's ok to ask? Whatever it is, I am glad to hear it's slowly getting stronger. Slowly but surely!

[tmn]

Re: Carpal tunnel

I'll definitely keep the no-pain part in mind while doing the stretches. What happened to your leg, if it's ok to ask? Whatever it is, I am glad to hear it's slowly getting stronger. Slowly but surely!

Oh, sure, you can ask!

I returned to school for an associate's degree. For the last 2.5 years. all I did was sit and study, getting very little exercise in. Just prior to this, I was doing 4-mile workouts without a problem. Between the lack of movement (because I was studying all the time), arthritis getting worse in the knee, and regaining the 40 pounds I had lost on Atkins, I was favoring that leg badly. And the muscles just went soft. Namely on the top of the thigh and inside of that leg. (Sorry, I'm tired and can't think of the names of those muscles.) Outside and back muscles are good, too good. They take over and do all the work, so the weak ones keep getting weaker. Last night, I managed four leg lifts that were about a foot high and then the pain kicked in. So it's getting there. It's sore today after all I did yesterday, but not nearly as bad as I was expecting. ...In fact, I haven't done any pain medications last night or today so it's really doing well!

How is your hand today?

[Lisa_Rose]

Re: Carpal tunnel

Oh, sure, you can ask!

I returned to school for an associate's degree. For the last 2.5 years. all I did was sit and study, getting very little exercise in. Just prior to this, I was doing 4-mile workouts without a problem. Between the lack of movement (because I was studying all the time), arthritis getting worse in the knee, and regaining the 40 pounds I had lost on Atkins, I was favoring that leg badly. And the muscles just went soft. Namely on the top of the thigh and inside of that leg. (Sorry, I'm tired and can't think of the names of those muscles.) Outside and back muscles are good, too good. They take over and do all the work, so the weak ones keep getting weaker. Last night, I managed four leg lifts that were about a foot high and then the pain kicked in. So it's getting there. It's sore today after all I did yesterday, but not nearly as bad as I was expecting. ...In fact, I haven't done any pain medications last night or today so it's really doing well!

How is your hand today?

Yikes, that sounds very tough to endure, but it's good you are doing those exercises to help build the muscle! I bet in no time you'll get the leg lifts up to six or eight

My hand feels better today, I think it is playing Jekyll and Hyde with me . There's some minor tingling and wrist pain, not as bad as the last few days. I've adjusted my keyboard height so that probably helped quite a bit. I was also able to pick up my dog last night, so that was nice (she slurped my face up really good too ). Thanks for asking!

[Lisa_Rose]

Re: Carpal tunnel

Well, I went to a specialist doc on Wednesday, and he confirmed it is carpal tunnel. However, he also said I have a pinched ulnar nerve, which is why my pinkie gets the tingling too. Wearing a brace now, and have a electrode nerve test scheduled (forgot what it's called).