

Ask HN: Have you ever had Carpal Tunnel Syndrome? How did you deal with it? - reso

Just in the last few days I've been getting Carpal Tunnel symptoms. I've bought a wrist brace, a new mouse, and a new keyboard. They seem to be helping, but I'm still worried that if this continues or gets worse, it could endanger my career.<p>What has been your experience?
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lambdathoughts
I briefly had a painful bout back in 2000 - was working full-time and was
taking classes too. Luckily, had a good physiotherapist and went for
ultrasound. The nerve damage was minimal, and the following helped: 1\. Get
some rubber squeeze balls - they have different strengths (indicated by
color). Remind yourself to use them every 30 minutes 2\. You can substitute
the above with Chinese medic(Baoding balls). They are extremely effective 3\.
DO some hand stretch exercises (yoga helps here). A basic exercise is twining
your forearms around each other and stretching them gently. 4\. Keyboard setup
- make sure that your fingers are positioned as in playing the piano - that
is, they should not raise the wrist but lower the wrist to the keys. 5\. Give
regular rest to your hands - go free of mouse/keyboard.

These worked/are working for me - YMMV - I luckily avoided having surgery (not
fun)

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rst
I managed to give myself RSI [+], to the point that typing was seriously
uncomfortable, by typing something like 20,000 words in a single day. What got
me on the road to recovery was a pretty radical cure --- two weeks cold turkey
on keyboards. That reduced symptoms substantially, to the point of twinges of
pain on individual fingers, at which point I'd just stop using that finger.

At this point, I'm largely pain-free, but when that changes, I'm pretty
aggressive about treating it --- laying off the affected hand, taking anti-
inflammatories, and wearing braces for a few days afterward. (It's almost
always the case that I've slipped into typing with bent wrists, and braces
force me back into good habits.)

[+] repeated stress injury --- more likely tendonitis than carpal tunnel in my
case, but diagnosis is tricky

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helen842000
I had a serious case of RSI when I was putting together my University final
year project and inserting screenshots into the documentation. Excessive mouse
use cutting & pasting!

It was most painful when trying to get to sleep at night or when it was
exposed to heat. Constant sharp tingling.

A long period of rest was the most effective. Ensuring your wrist isn't at
funny angles, at any point during the day - esp if you still need to type
daily. It's also a good idea to avoid resting on your elbow when bent as
associated nerves are exposed..

I also had a swelling at the wrist joint that remained even after the tingling
had gone. I found that this only went away when I started doing light punchbag
work after several months of rest.

No lasting issues and I'm at a computer for 10+ hours a day.

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Adam503
My Grandfather was big vitamin advocate. He was already 95 when an old
girlfriend got Carpal Tunnel and he said to tell her to take a B-complex
vitamin for it. I passed that advice on. In two weeks she was pain free. Gave
the same advice to a professional guitarist friend a couple of months later.
He was pain free in a week.

One of the B vitamins (honestly can't remember which B vitamin, though) is
responsible for holding moisture in certaining tissues, including the tissues
that line that tunnel. The tissues need fluid to protect the nerves in that
tunnel from getting irritated and swollen.

Try taking that B vitamin complex for a couple of weeks. See if it helps.

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mindcrime
I had some RSI issues, and in the process of researching remedies, I came
across an article that pointed out that a lot of RSI issues involve the way
our arms lie when we're sleeping. Thinking about it, I realized that the days
I had the most pain where usually the days that I noticed my wrist hurting as
soon as I woke up. So I bought one of those wrist brace things and took to
wearing it on and off throughout the day, AND while I slept. After a week or
so, my issues cleared up.

I did also mix in some various hand and wrist stretches and a limited amount
of icing my wrist down as well.

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sixQuarks
Yep, I bought the 3M Ergonomic Mouse - it's not really a mouse, it's more like
a joystick.

[http://www.amazon.com/3M-Ergonomic-Optical-Compatible-
EM500G...](http://www.amazon.com/3M-Ergonomic-Optical-Compatible-
EM500GPS/dp/B00008KWWG)

If you want to continue using a regular mouse, switch hands (it takes a bit of
getting used to). Or buy a wrist guard that keeps your wrist straight. That
helps a bit.

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chrismealy
Does it still hurt even when you take time off? If so it might just be all in
your head. It was for me. For real. I had it for a couple of years. All I had
to do was look at my wrists and say, "You're inflamed because I don't want to
deal with my problems," and the pain went away. It took about three days.

Google "John Sarno" but don't bother buying his book. It's not that
complicated.

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blj
I stopped using mouse totally and use the trackpad. For some reason it feels
better. Also I use the Anti-RSI software to remind me to take break regularly.

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cl8ton
I developed moderate CT several years ago. Fortunately just switching to a
split keyword and time, my symptoms went away.

Its just weird now that I have to use a big keyboard plugged into my laptop.

