Ailments and Situations - Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

(also referred to as...)

CTS, Repetitive Motion Injury, Repetitive Strain Injury, RSI

 
Description

Our modern lifestyle of computers, video games, Internet surfing, assembly line production, and data entry has brought with it a wrath of physical (and emotional) conditions not experienced in previous generations. From laziness, to emotional isolation, to painful, shooting pains in our wrists and hands, the mainstream medical community has been caught off guard with little conventional, effective means to deal with a number of these conditions.

Chief among them is carpal tunnel syndrome, a repetitive motion injury that has seen an exponential increase in cases over the last decade. Though this condition has been around for some time, with bookkeepers and cashiers comprising the bulk of sufferers, the rapid deployment of computers into the workplace during the 1980's and the home during the 1990's has made carpal tunnel syndrome a household term. United States Bureau of Labor Statistics show that between 1986 and 1992, the number of "repetitive trauma disorders" involving CTS and similar conditions rose from 50,000 to 282,000 cases. The U.S. National Center for Health Statistics reported 849,000 new cases of carpal tunnel syndrome in 1994. And with the rise of the Internet and the computer mouse as the primary interface tool, the number of cases continues to climb exponentially.

 

Symptoms and Signs:

Numbness, tingling, stiffness, and burning sensations may be felt along the hand, towards the wrist, and along the lower arm. Pain and weakness may also be experienced along the arm and neck. Symptoms are often sporadic at first and become more persistent as the condition worsens. The palmar side of the thumb, index, and middle finger and radial half of the ring finger are usually the foci of pain. Symptoms can affect one or both hands. Movement is often restricted. The little finger receives nerve impulses from outside the carpal tunnel and is thus spared from this particular condition.

Symptoms are often worse at night or in the morning, when circulation has slowed. Pain from curled wrists during sleeping (see Causes, below), is also a primary indicator of carpal tunnel syndrome.

Symptoms can become so severe that merely gripping a glass or turning a doorknob causes excessive pain. At this point, it is essential that you consult with your naturopath or other health practitioner.

 

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