Carpal Tunnel Syndrome/RSI

["Molly Bowling" <mbowling -at- statsoft -dot- com>]

I tried to respond directly to the original poster, but their mailbox was 
full.  Five years ago, I was severely injured with keyboard-related 
tenosynivits, and was on disability for several months, unable to even 
dress myself.  Here are my initial suggestions:

1) Do NOT take painkillers. The painkillers just allow you to hurt yourself 
worse. IT IS NOT WORTH IT. If you need to take a few weeks off of work, do. 
I worked through the pain, and was nearly crippled as a 
result.  Investigate speech-recognition software if you must continue to 
work. I built an entire web page by voice.  For those who rely on speech 
recognition, you may want to pay a few visits to a speech therapist.  It is 
very possible to overuse and strain your voice.

2) Have you had one of those electrical conduction tests? I was 
mis-diagnosed two times; turned out I had teninitis/tenosynivitis. One 
vital question - do your hands hurt when you sleep? If they don't, than 
most likely it's not CTS.

3) Look at your posture. Stretch. Do you have a comfortable chair to work 
in? I spent $750, out of pocket, for the chair I use at work. It was the 
best investment I made, because the chairs the company provides us simply 
didn't fit me.

4) Read, read, read. I really recommend taking a look at the book Pain Free 
by Pete Egoscue. My shoulders are impinged, because my hips are out of 
alignment. If I don't use my shoulders, then my forearms and wrists take up 
the slack. Another book I found helpful was Conquering Carpal Tunnel 
Syndrome. Deborah Quilter also has some very good books out.

5) Massage is very helpful for me. I'm sure mileage may vary, though.

Feel free to ask any questions off-list, no matter how minor. I didn't have 
a good support system when I got hurt, and the recovery was very hard. If 
you can get a handle on things early, though, it can be controlled. I'm a 
marvelous example - my occupational therapist honestly thought I'd never 
type again. I'm having a minor flare-up right now, but I know what to do to 
take care of myself (though it's taken years to figure out!).

Molly


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