posted
What the heck is wrong with them? I get a high pitch pain in them, it goes up to my arms, up to my neck, down my back. It is driving me nuts. Is it carpal tunnel or what?
posted
Ibuprophen, along with easing the discomfort, will help bring down swelling. Take it easy on your wrists for awhile.
Posts: 7050 | Registered: Feb 2004
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posted
I hear carpal tunnel relief is one of the quickest and simplest surgeries there is. Overuse develops the muscles, which puts pressure on the nerves and circulation. They simply snip the cuff that holds all that stuff in. If you don't have insurance, I guess anti-inflammatories and wrist stretch breaks and curtailing unnecessary use would be what I would do.
In the wacko department there is Vitamin B-6, CoQ10 and Carnitine. My brother in law used the B-6 when he had a flare up just before his recital to get his Bachelor's in Piano performance. My husband used the other stuff to support the formation of adequate vasculature or something.
Posts: 666 | Registered: Dec 2003
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-Extend affected hand palm up in front of you. Lightly tap on the inside of the wrist (it's difficult to explain exactly where; it's the spot Trisha was talking about that has the swollen tendons that are compressing the median nerve under the transverse carpal ligament). The pain would shoot up your thumb and first two fingers (as they are what is innervated by the compressed nerve).
-Extend both arms in front of you and rotate them inward so that the backs of your hands are fully matched up against one another. Now bring your hands closer to your body so that you are in a sort-of "up-side down prayer" type position (can't think of any other way to describe it). Hold for at least 30 sec to a minute and watch for pain in your thumb and first two fingers.
If neither of these tests really seem to elicit pain in your hand, it's unlikely to be carpal tunnel.
Can you localize your pain to a specific point from which everything radiates? That combined with the heat and the direction of the radiation would make tendinitis more likely. Tendinitis is the inflammation of a tendon, usually at the point where it meets the bone, and it is frequently caused by overuse/repetitive motion. And Bev's right about Ibuprofen and rest! You might also want to try icing it- frozen peas and/or styrofoam cups with frozen water are two great, cheap solutions. Peas form themselves around the joint, and the styrofoam allows you to massage while you ice (keep tearing off strips of cup along the top to make the ice accessible as it melts).
Hope you start feeling better, that sounds pretty miserable, especially with a lot of the pain occurring in the work place- it's hard to "take a rest" from work. Good luck, and let us know how it turns out!!
Posts: 186 | Registered: Dec 2000
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I had bad wrist/arm inflammation back in '97 that put me out of action for 6 months. It started with tingling in my hands, then over the course of a few months moved into my wrists, arms, and even my shoulders (bursitis). I tried a lot of different things -- rest, diet, supplements, hot/cold soaks, electrical stimulation, physical therapy, etc. Nothing really helped, my wrists just didn't get any better, and even just brushing my teeth hurt.
Ultimately, what helped me most was going to a chiropractor and getting my neck and back adjusted. It didn't fix everything right away -- it took a few months for me to realize, hey, I'm not getting worse... and then my wrists got much better over the next 3 months and I was close to being back to normal.
I still go to the chiropractor every month for "maintenance" -- I can feel my wrists starting to get a bit achey after I haven't gone in a while. If I was more conscientious about doing some exercises my chiropractor prescribed (for strengthening my back and strengthening/loosening my shoulders) I could probably go a lot less.
Some other things that helped: -- Using Tiger Balm on my wrists -- this helped a lot, it helps to break up the inflammation cycle. You can special order big tins of it through health food stores and get a much better price. -- Getting better sleep -- sleeping on a good mattress, not sleeping on my stomach (and arms), and wearing something called "Pil-o-Splints" at night on my arms to keep my wrists straight and to keep my wrists from getting squished if I did roll over on them during my sleep. -- Varying my work. I don't type for too long and I avoid a lot of repetitive work (production line work, or, out in the field, I no longer do some tasks like harvesting green beans or peas).
Something that's been implicated in contributing to carpal tunnel syndrome is the computer mouse. A mouse that has a track ball or rolling dial is more wrist-friendly. And I've heard that there's even a foot-operated mouse out there on the market, that'd be ideal.
btw, I'd REALLY strongly urge you NOT to get surgery until you try other options. Surgery is a quick-fix solution that often doesn't help much.
If you go to a doctor, it'd probably be best to go to a carpal tunnel specialist first thing (regular doctors won't be much help). If you do go to a specialist, try to find one whose answer for everything isn't surgery.
There's a lot of good info on the Internet about carpal tunnel, plus support groups, etc.
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The fact that the pain shoots up the arm makes me suspicious. I don't know much about carpal tunnel, but I have had similar pain in the wrist that was actually caused by a pinched nerve in my neck. A chiropractic adjustment eliminated it instantly. (But then I could feel pain at the actual location of the pinch)
Pinched nerves can often generate pain in seemingly unrelated places.
Posts: 3735 | Registered: Mar 2002
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posted
Maybe it's tendenitis. I got this hard knotty cold pain in my wrist, very high pitched. I try to wear a little bandange thing, mainly so folks don't make me lift those damn 24 can soda things. Why the heck do people need to drink that much dang on soda?
Posts: 9942 | Registered: Mar 2003
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