Carpal Tunnel?

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Well, i've been at this job for nearly a month now and part of my duties require running pipes and using clamps (the kind with screws to tighten) and it seems to be causing some slight numbness (more of a pins/needles feeling) in my main hand's middle finger, and the thumb and forefinger become inflamed when im writing. I also use my off hand sometimes and it's starting to get sore with the same fingers. My mother has shown me a few stretches (as she has a case of Carpal tunnel too) but i dont know how often i should do it. Any other ideas, aside from pain relievers and wrist braces?

don't let it progress into full carpal tunnel syndrome. treat it NOW by seeing a doctor/physical therapist. the exercises should be done daily without fail. NSAIDS also are useful here, as are cold compresses and wrist braces when sleeping. but NOW is the time to do something about it.

I would like to get to a doctor about it, but i cant afford the insurance and the doctor bills are obscene at best. I am wearing a wrist brace though.

Carpal Tunnel Treatments

a useful link above.
if i were you i'd try a daily regimen of NSAIDS also, along with ice packs when resting. when taking the NSAIDS be sure your stomach has recent food in it.
good luck.

p.s., if you live within reasonable distance of a university teaching hospital, you might be able to get some discounted medical care. a long shot but worth investigating.

Well, when funding is good and med insurance becomes a reality, im tempted to look into a chiropractor since some nerve issues stem from the spine "being out of alignment." My mother found that out with her case of carpal tunnel.

it could be the case that CTS symptoms are caused by issues in the carpal tunnel itself, but IMO its ust as (if not more likely) to be fasial adhesion which could be present anywhere from the neck, through the armpits right the way down the pathway of the nerve. This means the fascia (web of matter throughout the body thats like a set of sheaths for all your muscle fibres and internal organs) gets sticky or dry and binds up, instead of gliding freely - this pulls and snags at nerves causing RSI symptoms. If so treatment (asides from less general activity obviously avoiding the injurious activity altogether) would be along correcting posture, breaking bad habits of moving in the exact same way (ie getting out of bed, folding arms etc), avoiding dehydration and especially following a course of stretching exercises that aim to gently loosen the myofascia along the nerve pathway. To a lesser extent loosening ALL myofascial adhesions in the upperbody, as it tends to be connected. Stretching in the wrong order, doing too much too soon, or too intense will aggravate the problem, so you need to practice awareness & really 'listen' to the subtle signals your body sends.

E2A: im very wary of painkillers being used where RSI is indicated as they can allow someone to carry on hurting themselves without realising it. Unless you know specifically whats causing the problem and know for sure that anti-inflammatorys are suitable, id avoid the temptation to carry on doing the injuriopus activity at all. Trust me, RSI isnt something you want to play around with, its better to (temporarily) drop hobbies, make lifestyle adjustments, maybe even change jobs if at all possible.

Ive got an ebook with exercises specifically for treating fascial adhesion, i could send you a copy if you pm me you email address. (i might not be online again until thurs though)

Try these.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uhah4XIVsi4[/youtube]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Jhu2fKENsE[/youtube]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lUUSRuRx0Zc[/youtube]

I wouldn't necessarily jump headlong into surgery but i would educate yourself on all the options open to you, first of which would be quitting your job or asking for a transfer if possible. Ergonomic stuff, wrist braces, anything you can get to delay the progress of it. Losing weight can help. I have it and the weird thing is that even though I rarely have problems with the numbness and pain like I used to (I can type, probably because i had a nazi typing teacher in high school and learned correct positioning under durress because she would hit us if she caught us leaning on the desk). But something that really bothers me is I have almost NO strength left in my wrists. I hate it. YOu know when you have to lean down on all fours and look under the bed? I am crippled doing something like that, where I have to apply weight on my wrists. That part is really hard for me to accept and makes me wish I'd maybe seen a doctor to see what else I could do. I had no choice but to leave my cake decorateor job when I got it because I had that and something like tendonitis and the pain was keeping me up at night.

I strongly recomend this book on self-massage book on trigger points, even if your symptoms turn out not to have myofascial origins, your bound to refer to it to solve other aches pains throughout your life, or on behalf of friends and family.

http://www.amazon.com/Trigger-Point-The ... d_sim_b_10


http://www.amazon.com/Conquering-Carpal ... 148&sr=1-1

this book has the stretching routines i mentioned, and focuses in depth on CTS symptoms in particular.

I have heard that using a stylus instead of a PC mouse relieves some pain when on the PC.

Search wacom digitizer.