Carpal tunnel syndrome

[street]

I tried to search for this topic but I couldn't find it or I'm not smart enough to figure out how to do it.

Any way I have carpal tunnel and it has come on in the last month due to some part time work I took on. It is physical work using a hammer and shovel most of the day. I enjoy the work it keeps me in some shape and find the work rewarding for the short time I do it.

I have had some issues with it for some time but usually goes away. Last spring when I added on to my cabin I hardly slept because of the pain/numbness but with not doing that kind of activity it went away till now.

Is there anything that will help easy the pain? I will refrain from building etc. now with hope for relief.

Post your experience with and what you did for relief without surgery.

 

[omni550]

I don't have personal experience with this.

But I've had great success with finding exercises and solutions to my ankle-injury problem and a recent plantar fasciitis issue on YouTube.

omni

 

[imoldernu]

I'll defer to others first, but a caution... one size does not fit all.
First check out Phalens Test.
Second... from personal experience... the physical nerve conduction test is not always the definitive diagnosis. In my own case, after a carpal tunnel "release" and a six week recovery period, no improvement. Actual problem is polyneuropathy... (as opposed to peripheral neuropathy).

Best to do some research first, on Mayo, or WEBMD, before going to the doctor, so you can ask the right questions.

 

[street]

I don't have personal experience with this.

But I've had great success with finding exercises and solutions to my ankle-injury problem and a recent plantar fasciitis issue on YouTube.

omni

I will look into that search thank you very much.

 

[donheff]

I got carpel tunnel syndrome in my left hand following a broken wrist. Mine didn't hurt but the large muscle at the base of my thumb was wasting away. I had carpel tunnel release surgery (they snip the band that impinges on the nerve) and problem solved (for me at least). I don't know if the surgery works as well if you continue with the motion that led to it. I assume you would need to stop for a while to heal but the nerve is no longer impinged maybe the repetitive motion would no longer be a problem.

 

[zedd]

I suffered from carpal tunnel for the majority of my thirty year IT career. Typing at a computer for long hours would aggravate the problem. Being a weekend warrior; using hand tools, chainsaw, lawnmower, anything that vibrated, were the worst. CT rarely bothered me during the day but nights were horrid with both arms screaming in pain.


Finally about four years ago had a specialist do a carpal tunnel release in both wrists. Post procedure there was mild discomfort for about a week. Loss of hand strength too.


Today I look back and wonder why I waited so long to have the procedure done. Zero recurrence of CT and hand strength has been restored.

 

[Dash man]

I went to an occupational therapist to treat my carpal tunnel. After about six weeks of formal OT and continued exercises at home, I’ve had no problem.

 

[msieweke]

Check out the use of vitamin B6 and CTS:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1949298/

It's not a guaranteed cure, but it's cheap to try and non-toxic. BTW - The article doesn't mention it, but the B vitamins tend to help each other. It's a good idea to take the other Bs along with B6, if you're not already doing so.

 

[joeea]

Rather than trusting random (and often inappropriate) interweb advice, see your medical professional.

 

[mystang52]

Naprosyn may provide some symptomatic relief. Also, a good wrist splint may help. Both of these provided the symptomatic relief I needed, but the relief was always short term. Ultimately, I needed the surgery, but that fully resolved the problem with no residuals.

 

[SonofCohoes]

I had the surgery, I would do it again in a heartbeat. Very quick procedure and downtime was about a day.

 

[socca]

Purchase a Futuro wrist brace from a big-box pharmacy like CVS or Walgreens.

Quite a few years ago I started to get carpal-tunnel-like pain in my right knuckles/wrist from an old injury (my knuckles never quite recovered - the right-hand knuckles are noticeably larger than the left).

Using the wrist brace on my right wrist was practically miraculous - I had overnight relief (I kid you not). Now I wear it whenever I do computer work (as well as use an ergonometric keyboard with separate right and left halves - Kinesis Freestyle 2 for Mac).

Depending upon what's going on with you, this might be helpful or useless - YMMV.

 

[street]

Thanks for the great advise and your experience with CT. For some questioning if it is CT it is CT for sure. It is about 95% better since I haven't worked with power tools and shoveling. At some time I will see if I can get the surgery to fix it.

 

[braumeister]

Just another anecdote, but here's my story.

I developed pain in my right forearm after a very intense few months testing some software that required extremely precise movements with a three-button mouse. It got to be so excruciating that I was completely unable to do simple things like pick up a container of milk from the frig.

It was diagnosed as a combination of medial and lateral epicondylitis, familiarly known as Golfer's Elbow and Tennis Elbow.

I didn't want surgery and tried every other option: splints, corticosteroid injections, physical therapy including the electrical delivery of medication through the skin (iontophoresis). Nothing helped enough.

Finally I just had enough and decided to give it complete rest. Took a six month leave of absence from the job and over that time the problem gradually healed itself completely. As I said, just another anecdote but it worked for me.

 

[FrugalLady]

Check into the supplement Astaxanthin. The literature states that many see improvement with Carpal Tunnel and other ailments. I was suffering from Plantar Fasciitis, tennis elbow, and mild Carpal Tunnel (no pain at night, but numb fingers in the morning). Within three weeks, my PF had noticeably improved. Within 3 months, PF was totally gone (I had been suffering with it for 2 years), no more numb fingers in the morning, and my tennis elbow was greatly improved.

 

[Live And Learn]

I had carpel tunnel in both wrists. I suffered with the first wrist for years and tried every type of remedy I could (I have a collection of right wrist braces to prove it !) and finally relented and had the surgery. It was a BREEZE. Full recovery within 3 days. When the second wrist started giving me trouble I did not hesitate to do the surgery. Find an excellent surgeon and don't be afraid to go the surgery route.

 

[street]

It is getting better each day but still have the numb fingers in the morning not bad but still noticeable. I will see how things go in the next few months with out doing that type of work.

Thanks so much for the help.