Carpal Tunnel Prevention

It starts with tingling, soreness and stiffness. As these sensations increase and travel up into the forearm, you might also experience some numbness in your fingers.

If these symptoms sound familiar, you've either been sleeping on your arm all night, or you could be suffering from carpal tunnel syndrome.

According to a report by the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons, some 800,000 Americans have developed carpal tunnel syndrome, a malady that costs businesses around $20 billion a year.

While the rise of computers and their unergonomic keyboards might be partly to blame, according to Stephanie Schumacher, physical therapist at Caremark Center for Sports Medicine in Joliet, carpal tunnel syndrome has probably been around for eons, it just wasn't diagnosed as well.

"There are a lot of jobs in which you use your hands repetitively," she noted, from sewing or knitting to milking cows. "I don't think there are more cases of it," she said, "I think more people are getting treated for it."

What causes carpal tunnel syndrome?

According to Liz Schoeppel, occupational therapist at Central DuPage Hospital in Winfield, there is a canal in the wrist (conveniently, it's called the carpal tunnel) through which tendons and the median nerve pass. When an injury or repetitive movements such as typing or scanning groceries cause inflammation in this area, the nerve becomes impinged.

If not treated, scar tissue can develop, which not only exacerbates the problem, but can cause permanent nerve damage.

Treatments include anti-inflammatory medication and ice, ultrasound and physical therapy and, as a last resort, surgery to relieve pressure on the nerves and tendons.

"If we catch it early enough, we can sometimes treat it by stretching the tight points and strengthening the weak points," Schumacher said.

Of course, the best defense against carpal tunnel syndrome is not to get it in the first place, she added.

"You can strengthen the wrists and forearms [by bending the wrists] with little hand weights," Schumacher said, "and strengthen your hands by squeezing clay or putty. If you start to notice you wrists getting sore, putting ice on them for 10 minutes after work will also help to get rid of any inflammation," she said.

Schumacher recommends stretching and strength exercises once or twice a day, as well as the following stretching exercises to prevent or alleviate the symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome prior to doing any repetitive hand movements.

To warm up the tendons, make a lose fist touching your fingertips to the base of your palm. Keeping the thumb straight, slide your fingers up to the top of your palm, then continue sliding until your fingers form a hook.

Repeat five to 10 times, then switch hands.

To stretch, hold your left arm out straight in front from the shoulder with your palm in, fingers pointing down. With your right hand, gently pull the left hand toward you for 20 to 30 seconds. Repeat while making a fist with the left hand, and then start over with the palm facing out, fingers pointing down, then up. Repeat on the right arm.

© Copyright 1994 Paula Lauer