Tips for fighting carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS)

Anyone out there have carpal?

My hands/wrists/arms have been stiffening up like banchees since I started this blog!

I mentioned it to my doctor but he kind of glossed over it…

So I’ve been DIY’ing online to see what might be causing this, and how I might cure it (it’s actually quite painful on some days and has started to interfere with my work).

According to the New York Times’s Health Guide (which is a great resource):

“Carpal tunnel syndrome is compression of the median nerve at the wrist, which may result in numbness, tingling, weakness, or muscle damage in the hand and fingers.”

Carpal is caused by repetitive handwork over long periods, and can be exacerbated by stress, bad posture, etc.

l’m guessing my symptoms stem from all this blogging as I’m not handling a heavy jack-hammer or anything like that, at least not on a regular basis.

(Although I do bike a fair bit and discovered there could be a link b/w carpal and biking after typing “carpal + biking” into google and reading about bikers with painful wrists looking for answers).

Anyway, as far as cures go, short of minor surgery, here’s what I’ve gleaned so far from various online sources:

• Take a 2-6 week break (this is the one I like best!)
• Splints to immobilize the offending wrist(s) at night
• Good posture, including a screen level with your eyeballs!
• Ergonomic chair, mouse, keyboard
• Micro-breaks throughout the day: hand/wrist/arm/neck/back stretching and strength exercises
• Yoga to strengthen the wrists
• Swimming to strengthen the upper body
• Eat fish 2-3 times/week
• Rebounding 1-2x/day (this means bouncing on a trampoline)

I’ve signed up for all of the above because having stiff, painful hands and wrists is not fun, not at all.

Any other tips for fighting carpal? Thanks, readers.

Resource: The New York Times has some good health info, including this comprehensive section on carpal.