Solutions for the Prevention, Treatment, and Maintenance of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

You may be suffering from Carpal Tunnel Syndrome if you have any of the following symptoms:

Pain, tingling or numbless in the thumb, index, middle or ring fingers.
Pain that shoots from your hands up the arm as far as the shoulder.
A swollen or tightness feeling in your hands or wrists.

Sometimes you may also notice that one or more of the above symptoms are worse at night or when you first get up in the morning.

Your hands or lower arms feel weak in the morning.
You may drop objects more than usual.
You may have trouble pinching or grasping onto objects
You may have trouble performing detail tasks such as writing or tying your shoes.
You may have trouble performing tasks that require strength such as opening a sealed jar or using a screwdriver on a tight screw.

At first symptoms of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome are slight and usually infrequent. This is usually caused by excessive use of the hand for specific tasks. Once the hand and wrist are rested there may be no symptoms at all. As the use of the hand/wrist increases with repetitive tasks the symptoms and Carpal Tunnel Syndrome worsen. The pressure on the nerve increases and the individual can experience any number of the above symptoms at a greater and greater frequency.

CAUSES
Repetitive Motion is by far the MOST common cause of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. It has been mostly attributed to the workplace, however repetitive motions are found everywhere in activities varying from typing on your keyboard to using vibrating hand tools. When you flex your hand or fingers, the flexor tendons rub against the walls of the carpal tunnel. If you allow your hand time to recover this rubbing will, most likely, not lead to some kind of irritation. The amount of recovery time needed varies from person to person and activity.

ANATOMY
The median nerve runs into the hand to supply the sensation for the thumb, index finger middle finger and most of the ring finger. It is also responsible for the musculature of the thumb called the Thenar Muscles.

As the repetitive motion continues the carpal tunnel syndrome progresses and use of the hand and the thumb becomes more difficult. Tasks that require thumb or hand strength or minute precise movements get more and more fatiguing as the progression of carpal tunnel syndrome continues. Increased numbness and pain are key indicators the carpal tunnel syndrome is progressing. The pain can radiate up the arm to the shoulder and sometimes as far as the neck. Most individuals wake to find that their first three digits on their hands have a "Pins And Needles" feeling in them. They don't have normal feeling or reaction for a slight time period.

The constant repetitive motion involved in the beginning process of carpal tunnel syndrome causes the tendons to become irritated and inflamed. This can result in swelling and thickening of the Tenosynovium which is a slippery material that allows the tendons to glide and move against each other. As the tendons swell and thicken they place pressure on the carpal tunnel. Because the tunnel is actually bone the tunnel itself cannot increase in size therefore this inflammation causes the median nerve to get pinched against the transverse carpal ligament.

PREVENTION
There are many steps available to take that lower your chances of developing carpal tunnel syndrome. Most of the preventative techniques center around the configuration of the work environment you are in.

These are some key ergonomlc considerations concerning your workstation:

Wrist Angle: If your keyboard is positioned property your wrists should be abfe to rest comfortably on the table with your hands on the same plane or in a straight line with your forearms. Wrist rests and the ergoncunic keyboards can save your wrists in the long run.
Elbow Angles: With your hands resting comfortably on your keyboard and your upper arms vertical note the angle between your forearm and your upper arm. If it's elevating a slight amount upwards raise your seat. If your forearm and lower arm are pointing a slight amount downwards lower your seat. Take into mind that your legs also should be at a 90 degree angle as compared to your lower arms.
Waist And Back Angles: You may not think it but waist angle has as much to do with carpal tunnel syndrome as wrist angie does. With your legs being at a 90 degree angle your arms too should be at a 90 degree angle. If your arms and your legs are not at a 90 Degree angle there should be some repositioning so that both arms and legs fall within the 90 Degrees. Your arms and legs need to be level with each other. If your legs are too high that means you have to raise your chair. One thing we CANNOT stress enough is proper posture. Poor posture increases the probability of carpal tunnel syndrome occurring.
Feet: Your feet should rest comfortably flat on the floor in front of you.
It all starts with proper seating and position. An ergonornic chair is crucial to good ergonomics as well as preventing many conditions such as carpal tunnel syndrome or pain most anywhere for that matter. It all starts here because without a good chair proper ergonomics is difficult or impossible to attain. The height of your seat and the position of your backrest should be adjustable. Arm rests on chairs provide for support of your arms and take pressure off the muscles in your neck and shoulders supporting these 15-20 pound arms all day long. Basically the more adjustment your chair has the better it is because it allows the chair to be custom fitted to you!

We searched for the highest quality ergonomic desk chairs we could find and came up with the Bodybilt chairs. They are light years ahead in design, comfort and adjustability. This is the only chair that has the 10 Point Posture Control shown in the figure below.

Read about the posture control then check out the chairs we carry, 3 sizes, 3 fabrics and all with 14-day delivery to your door.

		(1) Air Lumber Pump
		(2) Armrest Angle Adjuster
		(3) Armrest Height Adjuster
		(4) Armrest Width Adjuster
		(5) Tltt Tension Control
		(6) Swivel
		(7) Seat Tilt Adjuster
		(8) Seat Height Adjuster
		(9) Backrest Angle adjuster
		(10) Backrest Height Adjuster

Treatment of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
Typically, your doctor tells you that you have carpal tunnel syndrome after you've experienced pain for some time in your hands or wrists. What happens now? First, your doctor could tell you that He/She caught it early enough so all you have to do is get a wrist rest and an ergonomic glove and you'll be all set. The second option(s) could be to inject the area of inflammation with corticosteroids, or Cortisone type medications. If the drugs are not effective the next option suggested is usually surgery. You're told this maybe required to relieve the inflammation and to avoid permanent damage to the carpal tunnel itself. The operation is called a carpal tunnel release and is considered a relatively minor operation and can be done on an outpatient basis.

We and others believe one of the reasons that minimal progress has been made in preventing and treating carpal tunnel and other repetitive stress injuries is because the rehab products for carpal tunnel syndrome have been designed incorrectly. Therapy today usually involves using thera putty or products that you squeeze or grip. Ironically, gripping aggravates the condition and the splints just immobilize the joint which causes ever-increasing loss of wrist movement or range of motion.

A professional team of physicians and therapists conducted research on carpal tunnel syndrome and the results showed the link to the chronic overuse of the flexor muscles which 'close' the hand causing these muscles to become stronger, tighter, and shorter than the extensor muscles that 'open' the hand. Because the weaker extensor muscles cannot provide sufficient support to the wrist joint, the carpal bones shift downward and into the carpal tunnel. It is the imbalance or the over strength of the flexor muscles and the corresponding weakness of the extensor muscles that puts increased pressure on the medial nerve. Once the concept that muscle imbalance was the cause of the symptoms associated with carpal tunnel syndrome, testing began in order to formulate a device that would strengthen the weaker, underdeveloped intrinsic and extrinsic extensor muscles of the fingers, wrist, and elbow joints simultaneously, without any gripping involved. The FLEXTEND GLOVE was developed as a result of this research and was submitted to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in 1994, and two years later was patented.

A full rehabilitation & maintenance program for carpal tunnel syndrome should include:

Flextend Glove Program.
Deep Tissue Massage - deep soft tissue vork that's suited to releasing trigger points and hypertonic muscles.
Stretching of the flexors - which involves pulling each finger one at 3 time back toward your forearm till you feel a good stretch in your finger, hand and forearm.